Former President Trump criticized Vice President Harris at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City on Thursday, mocking her for not attending the evening’s event, disparaging her intelligence and slamming some of her supporters.
President Trump spoke for about 30 minutes at the event, with New York Governor Cathy Ho-chul (center) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (center) in attendance. But Trump repeatedly returned to Harris, who skipped dinner to campaign in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
“My opponent doesn’t think he needs to be here. This is extremely disrespectful to this event and especially to our great Catholic community. “It’s very disrespectful,” Trump said.
“If you really wanted Vice President Harris to accept your invitation, you should have said that the funds would be used to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis. And she would have been here,” he added later, referring to her. We support the protesters who were arrested during protests in response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
As he often did on the campaign trail, Trump scolded Harris for her loud laughter and criticized her intelligence.
“The truth is, we need new leadership in this country,” Trump said. “We have a man in the White House right now who can barely speak, who can barely put two coherent sentences together, and who appears to have the mental capacity of a child. There are people for whom nothing happens. No intelligence at all. But enough about Kamala Harris.”
At one point, Trump slammed “White Friends for Harris,” a grassroots effort to rally support among white men for the vice president.
“Harris has a group called White Dudes. But I’m not worried about them,” Trump said. “Their wives and their wives’ lovers are all voting for me.”
President Trump seemed to receive a mixed response from the audience, including Democrats and Republicans. The former president told certain jokes, including one downplaying the second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s past relationship with his nanny and one referring to former President Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama.” I admitted that it didn’t work.
Harris did not attend the dinner in person while campaigning in Wisconsin. Instead, she addressed the event through a video featuring comedian Molly Shannon playing her “Saturday Night Live” character, Catholic schoolgirl Mary Catherine Gallagher.
The vice president criticized Trump in the video for election fraud and attacking the city of Detroit during a speech there.
Harris is far from the only prominent figure Trump criticized during his remarks.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) sat right next to the podium while President Trump spoke, and although the senator tried to maintain a stern expression throughout, he only smiled occasionally. Trump noted that he cut Schumer a check during his early campaign for office.
“But look on the bright side,” Trump told Schumer. “Given how woke your party has become, even if Kamala loses, she still has a chance to become the first female president.”
Trump expressed sympathy for New York City Mayor Adams, who was recently indicted on federal corruption charges.
“I wish you good luck in everything. They were after you. They’re after you, Mayor. “Nine and a half months ago I told him he was saying bad things about the administration,” he said. “He will be charged at any time. I think you’ll win. I know you will win.”
The former president was less sympathetic to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was in attendance as was former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We have another former mayor of New York with us. To be honest, it was the worst situation in our history. And it’s not Michael I can tell you,” Trump said. “To be honest, I’m surprised that Bill de Blasio can actually make it tonight. He was a terrible mayor. I don’t care if this is a comedy or not. He was a terrible mayor. He did a terrible thing. By the way, that’s not a comedy. “That’s true.”
Thursday night’s event is the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation’s 79th annual dinner, hosted by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Presidential candidates typically give speeches and exchange good-natured banter at the dinner every four years, but Trump turned the event on its head in 2016 by attacking Hillary Clinton. Trump and President Biden spoke virtually in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
