Harris Skips Annual Alfred Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Plays Pre-Recorded Video Ft. Actress Molly Shannon Instead

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:16 PM – Friday, October 18, 2024

During a pre-recorded video segment that was sent over to the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City on Thursday, Kamala Harris tried to poke fun at Donald Trump by making jokes about the 2020 election and his previous comments on Detroit.

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The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, which is commonly known as the Al Smith Dinner, is an annual white tie event held in New York City.

The yearly event brings together politicians and business leaders from both sides of the political spectrum, including mayors, governors, legislators, and presidential hopefuls, to exchange friendly jabs, donate money, and enjoy a delicious meal. Its primary goal is to generate money for Catholic charities in the Archdiocese of New York, which assists women and children in need.

“Since its first dinner in 1946, The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner has raised millions of dollars for New York’s most vulnerable women and children. The Dinner has featured renowned cultural, business, and political figures, including most major party presidential nominees during election years since 1960.

While campaigning in Wisconsin, Harris announced that she was unable to physically attend the dinner, a major blow to Democrats right before the 2024 election, as every single presidential candidate has historically attended the event in the past.  

Rather, she instead addressed the crowd through a video in which comedian and actress Molly Shannon played her longtime character, Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher, from the 1999 film “Superstar” and the long-running skit show “Saturday Night Live.”

Harris: “So tell me something; I’m giving a speech. Do you have some thoughts about what I might say tonight?”

Shannon: “Don’t lie. Thou shall not bear false witness to thy neighbor.”

Harris: “Indeed, especially thy neighbor’s election results,” calling out Donald Trump and referencing the 2020 election.

Shannon: “Don’t say anything negative about Catholics.”

Harris: “I would never do that no matter where I was. That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit,” taking another swing at Trump, this time over recent comments he made that disparaged Detroit’s extremely high rates of aggravated assault, robbery, and murder. Detroit, Michigan, was voted in the top three most dangerous places in the U.S. this year, according to U.S. News & World Reports.

Shannon: “Does it bother you that Trump guy insults you all the time?”

Harris: “You should never let anyone tell you who you are, you tell them who you are,” the Democrat nominee added, hypocritically acting as if her whole campaign has not been based solely on insulting Trump, rather than discussing her proposals and policies.

Shannon then walks away from the videographer’s view, and Harris delivers a direct address to all of the white tie dinner’s attendees.

“The Al Smith dinner provides a rare opportunity to set aside partisanship and come together to do some good by supporting the tremendous charitable work of the Catholic church,” Harris said. “In the spirit of tonight’s dinner, let us recommit to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground,” she added. “And in honor of the great Al Smith, let us fight to build a better future with faith in God, our country and in each other.”

Meanwhile, Catholic outlets and organizations have already expressed strong disapproval of Harris, criticizing her political stances and voting record as fundamentally opposed to core Catholic values.

“Harris has consistently promoted abortion, scrutinized Catholic judicial nominees, and opposed pro-life pregnancy centers and activists. She has also embraced gender ideology as well as transgender and contraception mandates that have, at times, jeopardized religious freedom,” the National Catholic Register reported.

As a U.S. senator, Harris also voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have required that babies who survive a botched abortion receive the same medical care to which all other infants at that stage are given.