Launching the Irish American Presidential Forum 2020 in Manhattan in early December were co-chairs (l-r) Marty Glennon, John Dearie and Joe Crowley. Photo by Nuala Purcell.
By Ray O’Hanlon
Along with pretty much everything else the planned Irish American Presidential Forum set for Fordham Law School in Manhattan has been cancelled.
The forum was announced in early December with organizers saying that all presidential candidates were being invited to answer a series of questions of importance to Irish America.
At that point, and including the president, the total number of potential invitees was 22 though a couple of Democrats, including Senator Kamala Harris, dropped out of the race at roughly the same time as the forum was announced.
At this juncture, the candidate field has been whittled down to just President Trump and in all likelihood former vice president Joe Biden.
The Irish American Presidential Forum dates back to 1984. In 1992, future president Bill Clinton answered a series of questions at the forum that would ultimately lead to the Good Friday Agreement and peace process.
While the forum gathering has been put off, organizers have emphasised that the questions remain for the candidates and that, assuming an actual gathering is not possible this side of the election in November, they will still be presented to the campaigns.
