Why So Serious?

For decades, the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City has served as a modest but welcome firebreak in American presidential politics. The white-tie event benefiting Catholic Charities is a moment when the candidates step away from the existential hyperbole that typifies campaign trail rhetoric, taking themselves and their cause just a touch less seriously. For one night, the stakes are low. Self-effacing humor and good-natured ribbing are on full display. No one pays any penalty for abandoning the oppressive earnestness partisans crave. We all get a chance to breathe.

We will be denied that reprieve this year. Kamala Harris’s campaign just doesn’t have the time for such frivolities.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

Featured Tags

For decades, the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City has served as a modest but welcome firebreak in American presidential politics. The white-tie event benefiting Catholic Charities is a moment when the candidates step away from the existential hyperbole that typifies campaign trail rhetoric, taking themselves and their cause just a touch less seriously. For one night, the stakes are low. Self-effacing humor and good-natured ribbing are on full display. No one pays any penalty for abandoning the oppressive earnestness partisans crave. We all get a chance to breathe.

We will be denied that reprieve this year. Kamala Harris’s campaign just doesn’t have the time for such frivolities.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.