Originally published at National Catholic Register
Former president Donald Trump and comedian Jim Gaffigan took jabs at Vice President Kamala Harris during the annual Al Smith dinner for her decision to skip the event that both major party candidates traditionally attend during presidential election years.
“My opponent feels like she does not have to be here, which is deeply disrespectful to the event and in particular to our great Catholic community,” Trump said to applause from some of the guests.
The dinner, held Thursday, Oct. 17, commemorates Al Smith, governor of New York in the 1920s and the first Catholic to be nominated for president by a major political party. Hosted by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, the $5,000-a-plate dinner was expected to raise as much as $10 million for Catholic charities in the state.
Normally, the two candidates trade lighthearted jokes about each other and themselves. In 2016, however, Trump diverted from this precedent with harsh criticisms of his opponent, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Harris, who was campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin on the day of the dinner, instead sent a prerecorded video to address the guests.
“Instead of attending tonight, [Harris is] in Michigan receiving Communion
