Mark Halperin Says Al Smith Set Made Republican ‘Confident Trump Will Win’ If He Maintains ‘That Version’ Of Himself

Newsmax political analyst Mark Halperin on Friday said former President Donald Trump’s set at the Al Smith charity dinner on Thursday boosted a previously “pessimistic” Republican’s confidence in Trump’s chances of victory in November.

Vice President Kamala Harris sent a pre-recorded video instead of attending the dinner, while Trump delivered nearly 30 minutes of live remarks in person. Halperin, on “Wake Up America, said Trump’s speech hit the mark and asserted a Republican said he believes that if Trump continues this “version” of himself for the rest of the campaign, he will secure reelection.

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“Well, I watched the video, separate from it being played, her video being played at the dinner, and it seemed fine to me. It was not well received in the room, according to everyone I spoke to, both Democrats and Republicans. The Harris campaign trashed Donald Trump’s performance,” Halperin said. “There were plenty of negative things to say about Donald Trump. I can’t imagine panning that performance. It was the way those speeches are supposed to be. It was cutting and it had a lot of kind of acknowledging the fourth wall lines.”

“And I had one Republican who wants Trump to win, but has been very pessimistic about his chances of late, who said if that Donald Trump, that version of Donald Trump turns up on the campaign trail in these last few weeks, he’s confident Trump will win,” he added.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said on Sept. 24 that he was “disappointed” Harris would not attend the dinner, which benefits Catholic charities that support children’s medical and financial needs. The last presidential nominee to miss the dinner was former President Ronald Reagan’s unsuccessful Democratic challenger Walter Mondale, who declined to attend in 1984.

“I don’t know exactly why she skipped it. I will say, you know, you heard President Trump last night reference his previous attendance at the dinner, including when he was younger with his dad. It is a home court for him. You know, he is a New Yorker. He knows a lot more people in that room, has a lot more support in that room, I think, organically and historically than she does,” Halperin added. “And so I think they just didn’t want to take the risk of sending her into a high stakes showdown like that.”

Trump currently holds slim leads over Harris in all of the top seven battleground states, according to the RealClearPolling averages.