Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, urged Vice President Kamala Harris to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on October 17, warning her that the last presidential nominee who did not attend got blown out in the election.
Dolan made the remarks after Harris’ team said that she would not attend the annual Catholic charity dinner.
“We’re disappointed, we were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome,” said Dolan. “And we are confident the vice president would find this — you know, she speaks so much about the high ideals and how it is good to get away from division and come together in unity, and that’s something else this dinner is all about.”
“We haven’t given up yet. We’re not used to this,” he continued. “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, but…