Trump knocks Harris, signals support for Adams at NY charity gala
By James Oliphant
Oct 17 (Reuters) -Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tried to poke fun at his opponent Democrat Kamala Harris and embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams while touching upon his own legal troubles in a somewhat light-hearted speech at a charity gala on Thursday.
"It's really a pleasure (to be) anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance," Trump told the gathering at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City.
The annual Al Smith dinner, which benefits Catholic charities, is a New York bipartisan tradition that attracts the city's elite and extends back almost 80 years. In the past it has been known for being an evening when candidates could gently mock themselves and their opponents.
As Trump began his remarks, he turned to Adams, who has been indicted on federal corruption charges, and said, "Good luck with everything."
Harris was the first major party presidential candidate since Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984 to skip the event. Instead, the vice president campaigned in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state.
Gentle mockery, however, isn't quite in Trump's nature. He blasted Harris for the no-show and noted that Mondale was trounced by Republican Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential contest.
"It shows you there is a God," he joked to applause.
Harris addressed the crowd in a pre-recorded video, saying: "In the spirit of tonight's dinner, let us recommit to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground."
Later, Trump joked that Harris would have come if the charitable funds from the event were earmarked for "the looters and rioters in Minneapolis" - a reference to the 2020 racial justice protests after the death of George Floyd. Several in the audience booed.
Melania Trump, the former first lady, made a rare appearance alongside her husband. It was the first time the two were together at a political event since the Republican National Convention in July.
Melania Trump released a memoir last month in which she detailed her support for abortion rights, a position at odds with Donald Trump’s public stance.
Trump was criticized for using the 2016 dinner as a vehicle to attack his then-opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, rather than keeping the proceedings light-hearted.
He seemed to struggle again with that on Thursday.
"Tradition holds that I'm supposed to tell you a few self-deprecating jokes this evening," he said. "Nope, I've got nothing."
Also attending the dinner were Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former independent presidential candidate who dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, and Letitia James, the New York attorney general who brought a massive civil fraud case against Trump's companies that resulted in a judgment of more than $450 million.
Trump still faces federal and state charges for interfering with the 2020 election.
Heavily Democratic New York state is not considered to be a battleground that will determine the 2024 election, but Trump has been spending an unusual amount of time there. He held a rally on Long Island in September and is scheduled to hold an event at Madison Square Garden later this month.
The dinner, however, is also a way to reach Catholic voters, an important swing constituency nationally. Trump leads Harris among Catholic voters in battleground states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania by 5 percentage points, according to a poll released this week by the National Catholic Reporter.
Nationally, the race remains close, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showing Harris in the lead 45% to 42%.
Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Kim Coghill
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
