The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, commonly known as the Al Smith Dinner, is an annual white tie dinner in New York City, United States, to raise funds for

Catholic charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

supporting children of various needs in the Archdiocese of New York. Held at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on the third Thursday of October, it is hosted by the Archbishop of New York while organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

who grew up in poverty and later became the

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

four times and the first Catholic nominated as the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

candidate for the

1928 United States presidential election The 1928 United States presidential election was the 36th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1928. Republican Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Al Smith of New York. After ...

. Cardinal Francis Spellman founded and hosted the first dinner in 1945 after Smith's death the previous year. By 1960 the Al Smith dinner had become a "ritual of

American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...

", in the words of

Theodore H. White Theodore Harold White (, May 6, 1915 – May 15, 1986) was an American political journalist and historian, known for his reporting from China during World War II and the ''Making of the President'' series. White started his career reporting for ...

. It is generally the last event at which the two U.S. presidential candidates share a stage before the election. Apart from presidential candidates, keynote speakers have included Tony Blair, 7-minute excerpt from the second British Prime Minister to address the Al Smith Foundation dinner. Tom Brokaw, Bob Hope, Henry Kissinger, Clare Boothe Luce, and many other prominent civic, business, and church leaders.

History

Since 1960, when John F. Kennedy (who would become the first Roman Catholic president) and Richard Nixon were speakers, it has been a stop for the two main presidential candidates during several U.S. election years. In 1976, Jimmy Carter and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

spoke; in 1980, Carter and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

; in 1988,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and Michael Dukakis; in 2000,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

; in 2008, Barack Obama and

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

; in 2012, Barack Obama Mitt Romney and President Obama speak in New York. and

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

Mitt Romney and President Obama speak in New York. in 2016, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; 71st Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. Streamed live on 20 October 2016. Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump deliver remarks at the Al Smith charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. and in 2020, Trump and Joe Biden. Candidates have traditionally given humorous speeches poking fun at themselves and their opponents, making the event similar to a roast. The 2018 dinner raised $3.9 million. Since 1980, this custom has been affected by friction between the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and the Catholic Church over abortion. During the 1980 dinner, Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter was booed. In 1984, Ronald Reagan spoke, but his opponent, Walter Mondale, opted out, saying he needed time to prepare for an upcoming presidential debate.

Amy Sullivan Amy Sullivan is a Chicago-based journalist who has covered religion and politics as an editor at ''Time'', Yahoo! News, ''Washington Monthly'', and ''National Journal''. She contributes opinion and news analysis to outlets including NPR, the ''New Y ...

suggests that Mondale's decision was motivated by "tensions between the Catholic Church and the Democratic Party." Barack Obama ties his tie

In 1996 and 2004, the Archdiocese of New York chose not to invite the presidential candidates. In 1996, this was reportedly because Cardinal

John Joseph O'Connor John Joseph O'Connor may refer to: * John O'Connor (cardinal), archbishop of New York * John J. O'Connor (bishop of Newark), American prelate of the Catholic Church. * John J. O'Connor (New York representative), U.S. Representative from New York * ...

was angry at Democratic nominee Bill Clinton for vetoing a bill outlawing some late-term abortions. The organizers' explanation was that the candidates had been unable to commit to attending the dinner. The vice-presidential candidates spoke instead. In 2004, Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling explained that the candidates were not invited because "the issues in this year's campaign could provoke division and disagreement," but some speculated that the decision was due to Democratic nominee (and Roman Catholic) John Kerry's pro-choice stance on abortion. On October 20, 2016, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spoke at the dinner which was hosted by Cardinal

Timothy M. Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

who was seated between the two presidential candidates during the event. During the dinner, Trump made numerous remarks about Hillary Clinton, including references to the hacking of the email server of the Democratic National Committee, her supposed corruption, and her back room dealings with Wall Street elites. The 2016 dinner drew 10.3 million viewers and raised a record-breaking $6 million for

. The 2020 dinner occurred in a virtual format, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

, and the traditional roast-like nature was abandoned; still, it was attended by Joe Biden and Donald Trump; both men discussed Catholicism.

In media

During the 2000 dinner, George W. Bush joked, "This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base." The quote was used in ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the w ...

'' and subsequently in one of John Kerry's 2004 campaign speeches. The dinner was the subject of an episode of '' The West Wing'' titled " The Al Smith Dinner".

References

External links

* - {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York Charity events in the United States Catholic Church in the United States Annual events in New York City Recurring events established in 1945 Roast (comedy) Catholic culture Catholic charities 1945 establishments in New York City

History

In media

See also

References

External links