Americans Having Fun at the Al Smith Dinner

Last night, the Archdiocese of New York held its annual Al Smith Dinner, a political event, meant to be a bi-partisan night of fun and good cheer, for the purpose of raising funds to support Catholic Charities. While most political glitterati were there, noticeably absent was the Democrat Nominee for President, the one and only Kamster.

 

While she sent in a prerecorded message, she had a previous engagement in Wisconsin to address supporters and tell them how she “stood up to veterans” while touting her tenure as California’s attorney general when she mistakenly bragged about standing up to America’s war heroes.

The dinner, which in a presidential election year traditionally features both major party candidates for some good-natured ribbing and roasting, Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris declined to attend Thursday night, is named after the first major-party Roman Catholic presidential nominee, four-term Democrat New York Governor Al Smith, who lost to Republican Herbert Hoover in the 1928 election.

The last time a Presidential candidate declined to show up was in 1984, when Walter Mondale had to stay home and watch paint dry. And we know what happened that November when Ronald Reagan won 58.8 percent of the popular vote, and defeated Mondale by a popular vote margin of eighteen points, taking every state except Minnesota and DC.

The New York Post reported that many politicos were in attendance . SNL's Jim Gaffigan was MC'ing the event which had the attendees laughing as he joked about Kacklin' Kammy's absence. “I mean, consider this, this is a room full of Catholics and Jews in New York City. This is a layup for the Democratic nominee,” Gaffigan said.

Donald Trump was self – depreciating, saying, “I guess I just don't see the point of taking shots at myself when other people have been shooting at me for a hell of a long time. And they shoot, right?"

And then he said, "It's really a pleasure anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance," Trump said to laughter. "Anytime I don't get a subpoena, I'm very happy."

He even poked fun at New York City Mayor Eric Adams, “Mayor Adams, good luck with everything," Trump said while looking at Adams on the huge dais. "They went after you. They went after you, Mayor. Yeah, boy, I knew that nine-and-a-half months ago. I said, you know, he just said something bad about the Biden-Harris administration. He's going to be indicted. Any moment.

"And guess what happened? But you're going to win. I think you're going to win. I know you're going to win. So good luck. Good luck. I don't like what they do. I don't like what they do."

When it was done, the attendees went back to their corners to prepare for another day. Democrats to the Left of me, Republicans to the Right. And I am in the middle with you.

For one night, the gloves came off, the tuxes came on and everyone shared a good time just being Americans.