As RedState noted Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris will be skipping the Al Smith Dinner, the first time a Democrat presidential nominee has opted not to attend the annual Catholic charity event alongside the GOP presidential nominee since Walter Mondale in 1984.

The tradition first started in 1960 with then-Sen. John F. Kennedy and then-Vice President Richard Nixon. 

According to an ABC News report, "Harris' team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election rather than heavily Democratic New York, a campaign official said Saturday," confirming that the current priorities of Joe Biden's vapid veep don't include displaying bipartisanship and raising money for worthy charities that help children with their medical needs.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump announced Monday that he would be attending and blasted Harris for the decision not to be there.

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In response to the rejection, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said he was pretty shocked but was holding out hope that she'd change her mind and attend the Oct. 17th gathering. 

Other comments Dolan made in response to questions about the Harris campaign's call to have her break tradition sparked chuckles and raised a few eyebrows, especially after he revealed what Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told him about who allegedly made the decision:

Cardinal Dolan told reporters that Harris "speaks very much about the high ideals and how it's good to get away from division and come together and unity and all, and that's what the Al Smith dinner is all about."

[...]

"We're not used to this. We don't know how to handle it," he said. "This hasn't happened in 40 years since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation, and remember he lost 49 out of 50 states. I don't want to say there's a direct connection there."

Yet the cardinal said he hasn't "given up yet" on Harris' attendance, noting that both U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul have been "working hard to see that they convince her to come."

The cardinal also said Sen. Schumer had told him that he didn't believe Harris had made the decision to bow out directly but that her schedulers have been saying she cannot make it.

Ouch! Watch:

Cardinal Dolan on Kamala Harris skipping the Al Smith dinner:

"Schumer said to me, ‘I don’t think she made the decision, I think her schedulers are saying she can’t make it.’"

Kamala wants to run the country but isn't even making her own decisionspic.twitter.com/ipt0fol9mN

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 24, 2024

First things first, it looks and sounds like the good Cardinal has got Kamala Harris' number. Secondly, what a terrible look for the Harris team to turn their backs on helping children in need simply because New York state is one in which Kamala Harris doesn't have to campaign. 

Even the AP seemed to be calling her out in their headline:

"Trump will attend Al Smith charity dinner that Harris is skipping to campaign in battleground state"

Thirdly, it shows us once again that it is not Harris who is in the driver's seat here but her handlers, a big warning sign for what would be to come should she get elected. Voters should take note, because we already have one president whose handlers are the ones really in charge. We certainly don't need another one.

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