Former Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn said Monday evening that Vice President Kamala Harris’s refusal to attend a Catholic charity dinner that presidential nominees from both of America’s major political parties always attend was a “bad” look.

Trump announced on Monday that he was excited to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on October 17, while Harris’ team announced late last week that she would not attend.

“I think her positioning that Donald Trump is unacceptable and a threat to democracy means it’s very hard for her to go to a forum and just joke with him, because I think that gives him kind of the respect of a colleague running for president that she doesn’t want to give him,” Penn said on Fox News’ “Special Report” with Bret Baier.

“I think it’s a bad thing that she’s not going, and I think Trump’s decision on the debate basically does make sense at this point,” he added. “It’s too risky for him in the final days. He thinks there’s a natural arc here where she’s peaked and now she’s going to really have to figure out ways to get another point or two, which are declining.”

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Former Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn says Trump’s decision to not debate Harris is smart because she has likely already “peaked” in the polls pic.twitter.com/1LtZxTuTzA

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 24, 2024

At the dinner, the presidential nominees engage in some self-deprecating humor and light roasting of their opponent.

“It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend,” Trump wrote on social media on Monday night. “I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration.”

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“Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he continued. “In addition to the Democrats’ Cruel War on The Little Sisters of the Poor, Kamala led the way on the UNCONSCIONABLE and UNCONSTITUTIONAL ATTACKS on The Knights of Columbus that amounted to a RELIGIOUS TEST (Very anti-Catholic!) for Justices on the Supreme Court. Also, who can forget the flagrant, in-your-face ‘TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY’ Kamala and Biden hosted at the White House on Easter Sunday (of all days!). Regardless, I will see everyone on October 17th, and we will have a GREAT night for Catholic Charities. It’s sad that Kamala doesn’t care about these good works, but with her History of anti-Catholic actions, she would have a hard time anyway!”