Harris to address annual Al Smith dinner via recorded video message

Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend the annual Al Smith dinner in person on Thursday night, but will be delivering a pre-recorded address in a video message, organizers said.

The move is a break from presidential tradition, and marks Harris as the first presidential candidate to miss the charity dinner since Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale chose to skip the event in 1984, according to Fox News.

The white tie event raises money for Catholic charities, and is hosted by Archdiocese of New York. The event has historically served as a place for candidates to poke fun at each other in a lighthearted way before the final stretch of the presidential election. 

"This year will be imbalanced because, sadly, Kamala Harris isn't coming," Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said on his podcast on Tuesday. "It's a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It's not a campaign speech. It's not a campaign stop."

Dolan confirmed that the campaign sent a Zoom video of her message, but admitted that he has not watched the message so far because of an embargo.

Harris' campaign has not publicly commented on the video message, but said last month she would be skipping to focus on campaigning in the swing state of Wisconsin.

Former President Donald Trump, who will speak at the dinner in person, and President Joe Biden both attended the event virtually in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump also attended in person in 2016.

The event is the 79th annual dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, and will be emceed by comedian Jim Gaffigan, who portrayed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live recently.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.