Haberman says Harris will face 'zero cost' for skipping Al Smith dinner
National political correspondent Maggie Haberman suggested earlier this week that there would be "zero cost" for Vice President Harris to skip the annual Al Smith dinner.
"There is, I think, zero cost to her skipping this despite complaints otherwise," Haberman told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Thursday evening ahead of the dinner hosted by New York Catholic Charities.
Harris chose not to attend the dinner in person, making her the first major presidential candidate to turn down the invitation in several decades. Instead, she opted to continue her swing through the battleground state of Wisconsin, as the election draws closer.
The vice president did deliver remarks via a video in which she blasted her GOP rival, former President Trump, who was in attendance, for election denialism and his recent attacks on the city of Detroit.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan, who emceed the dinner, swiped at Harris for her absence, calling the event a "layup" for the Democratic nominee.
"I’m sorry, why is Vice President Harris not here?" he asked.
“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,” he added at the time.
Trump also knocked Harris for her absence, calling it "deeply disrespectful."
“My opponent feels like she does not have to be here, which is deeply disrespectful to the event, and in particular to our great Catholic community," he said.
Blitzer asked Haberman Thursday what she expected from Trump at the dinner. The veteran journalist, who has covered the former president for years, said he would likely lean into humor and his attacks on Harris.
"For him to make all kinds of jokes at the expense of some of the people sitting in the room with him and for him to say things about Kamala Harris that are similar to what he says on the campaign trail," she said in the interview, highlighted by Mediaite. "But, I mean, that is very much — it’s a mixed room, politically, but it’s a pretty hospitable environment for Trump."
"The irony is that it is filled with the kind of elites who he trashes all the time," she added.
Haberman also weighed into the vice president's blitz through the "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — or those won by Trump in 2016 but recaptured by President Biden in 2020. Asked by Blitzer if the former president is confident he can flip them back, she wasn't so sure.
"I wouldn’t say that they’re confident that they can retake them," she said. "They are very hopeful that they can retake them."
"But we are still 19 days out from Election Day and a lot can change," she later added, saying that about Pennsylvania in particular is a "tough one."
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ's aggregate of polls shows Trump narrowly leading Harris in Wisconsin, 48.6 percent to 48.3 percent, and in Michigan, with 48.6 percent support to her 48.2 percent.
In Pennsylvania, seen as one of the most crucial states to win, Harris has a slight edge over her GOP rival — 48.7 percent to 48.3 percent — the index shows.