Trump Just Likes Catholics
On Thursday night, wealthy Catholics and New Yorkers gathered for the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, often just called the Al Smith Dinner, a prestigious charity event long famed for featuring appearances from U.S. presidents and presidential candidates.
Speaking to Catholic journalist Raymond Arroyo about the Al Smith Dinner … Trump said that attending was, in his mind, a way of “honoring the Catholic Church.”
This year, Vice President Kamala Harris decided not to attend, instead submitting a short video message. But former President Donald Trump was present, and he demonstrated not only his comedy skills but his deep appreciation for American Catholics.
Harris’s less-than-four-minute-long video appearance was packed with contrived pop culture references which no doubt would be intelligible to 20-year-old college girls, but likely failed to land with her audience of older, wealthy Catholic elites and New York political brass.
In addition to quoting from a Game of Thrones spinoff to explain why the nation needs a female president, Harris’s video also made jokes at the expense of the Last Supper. Although she attempted to conclude on a more serious note, she offered only hollow, meaningless platitudes — noticeably read from a teleprompter, of course.
Meanwhile, Trump delivered 20 minutes of some of the finest comedy seen on any stage (without the aid of a teleprompter), roasting Harris for failing to show up. “It’s been a long tradition for both Democrat and Republican candidates for President of the United States to attend this dinner,” Trump said.
“It’s a rule, you gotta go to the dinner, you gotta do it, or else bad things are gonna happen to you from up there,” he continued, pointing towards Heaven. Referring to Harris’s video message, he went on, “You can’t do what I just saw on that screen.”
“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, very disrespectful,” Trump said, garnering cheers of agreement from his audience. The former President continued, “The last Democrat not to attend this important event was Walter Mondale, and it did not go very well for him. He lost 49 states and he won one, Minnesota. So I said there’s no way I’m missing it.”
Reportedly, Harris had a scheduling conflict with a campaign event and so chose not to attend. But Trump, who campaigns voraciously and regularly puts in 17 hours a day, made the time to show up in person. That is, of course, one of the key differences between the two candidates: Harris has no respect for American Catholics, perhaps erroneously believing that her current boss’s self-description as a “Catholic” will be enough to carry at least a portion of the key demographic; while Trump actually cares.
The fact is that Trump likes Catholics. He married a Catholic, he staffed much of his first campaign and administration with Catholics — from Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to Attorney General Bill Barr — he allowed Catholic staffers to celebrate the Tridentine Mass at the White House, and he pays tribute to the contributions that Catholics have made to America and the whole Western world.
Recently, Trump publicly praised the martyred Catholic priest Jerzy Popiełuszko, who was tortured to death by communists in Poland for supporting and encouraging the Solidarity movement. He posted the St. Michael prayer penned by Pope Leo XII to his social media account on the feast day of the Archangels. At his rallies, he has the “Ave Maria” sung. And on September 8, the former President publicly wished the Blessed Virgin Mary a happy birthday, accompanied by an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Speaking to Catholic journalist Raymond Arroyo about the Al Smith Dinner and his presence there, Trump said that attending was, in his mind, a way of “honoring the Catholic Church.” Regarding his increasingly frequent speaking and social media posting on the subject of Catholicism, Trump said that Catholicism is “just beautiful to me. I mean, I look at the whole thing, the words and the pictures, the pictures are so beautiful.” He added simply, “I think it’s really very beautiful.”
Harris did not attend the dinner. She did not want to be in a room full of American Catholics. In her video message, the only thing she seemed able to think of that was even remotely related to Catholicism was an old Saturday Night Live character in a Catholic schoolgirl’s uniform. At a campaign event just days later, when an attendee yelled out, “Jesus is Lord,” Harris responded, “Oh, you’re at the wrong rally.” She didn’t show up because she simply detests Catholics, she has no respect for the Catholic Church, and she has no appreciation for American Catholics.
Trump showed up because that’s who he is. He did not make a campaign speech, he did not make a case for why Catholics or New Yorkers should vote for him, he just told some very good jokes and made a room full of American Catholics laugh uproariously. He showed up because he respects the Catholic Church (Of course, he still has some work to do when it comes to respecting the moral teachings of the Church, so do not forget to pray for him.) and appreciates American Catholics. That is the choice that lies before American Catholics in the voting booth this November.
READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy:
The Case for Christian Conservatism
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