Speaking on the evening of Monday, September 23, former Clinton strategist and current pollster Mark Penn sounded off on Vice President Kamala Harris’s refusal to attend a Catholic charity dinner that presidential nominees from both the GOP and Democratic Party have long attended was a “bad” look.
Former President Trump, on the other hand, has announced that he will attend the dinner, called the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. That dinner will occur on October 17, and is meant to help women and children as the website for the dinner and the eponymous foundation note in its description.
That description provides, “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.”
In any case, Mark Penn, appearing on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier, said that Kamala’s decision to not attend was a bad one. Beginning, he said that her reluctance to appear for the event seems based on her framing of former President Trump, who will appear, as beyond the pale and unacceptable.
He said, making that point, “I think her positioning that Donald Trump is unacceptable and a threat to democracy means it’s very hard for her to go to a forum and just joke with him, because I think that gives him kind of the respect of a colleague running for president that she doesn’t want to give him.”
Continuing, Penn said that it is a bad thing that Harris isn’t going to the dinner to support that charity and that, on the other hand, Trump’s decision to not do another debate makes sense. He said, “I think it’s a bad thing that she’s not going, and I think Trump’s decision on the debate basically does make sense at this point.”
Continuing, Penn described why things are working for Trump on that front on what Harris needs but is having trouble getting as the final days of the campaign run down. He told Baier, “It’s too risky for him in the final days. He thinks there’s a natural arc here where she’s peaked and now she’s going to really have to figure out ways to get another point or two, which are declining.”
Watch them here:
Former President Trump, commenting on Harris not going to the dinner in a post on social media that came out the same Monday as Penn spoke to Baier, said, “It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration.”
Continuing, Trump added, “Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined. In addition to the Democrats’ Cruel War on The Little Sisters of the Poor, Kamala led the way on the UNCONSCIONABLE and UNCONSTITUTIONAL ATTACKS on The Knights of Columbus that amounted to a RELIGIOUS TEST (Very anti-Catholic!) for Justices on the Supreme Court.”
He then said, “Also, who can forget the flagrant, in-your-face ‘TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY’ Kamala and Biden hosted at the White House on Easter Sunday (of all days!). Regardless, I will see everyone on October 17th, and we will have a GREAT night for Catholic Charities. It’s sad that Kamala doesn’t care about these good works, but with her History of anti-Catholic actions, she would have a hard time anyway!”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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