Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ the day before. electionPlaying a mirror image double of Maya Rudolph’s version of herself.
The first line of the candidate sitting across from Rudolph was drowned out by the cheers of the audience.
“Nice to meet you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph. “And I’m here to remind you of this. You earned this.”
At the same time, the two said their supporters needed to “Keep Kamala and carry-on-ala,” declared that they shared “a belief in America’s promise” and passed a sign that read “Live from New York it’s Saturday night!”
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During the approximately two-minute conversation, Harris also mentioned her opponent, former President Donald Trump. to do stunts on wednesday On the airport tarmac in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump briefly struggled to open the door before boarding a garbage truck.
The stunt is In response to remarks President Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “scum” during a video call with Latino activists Tuesday. The White House denied that was Mr. Biden’s intention.
Harris told Rudolph, “Nice to meet you, Kamala, and I’m here to remind you of this: Because you can do things the other person can’t.” “You can open the door.”
“I know what you did there.” Rudolph answered. “It’s like a garbage truck, right?”
Harris made a surprise trip to New York as the election approached, briefly stepping back from the battleground where she had campaigned fiercely in favor of the iconic sketch comedy show she hoped would generate buzz and appeal to a national audience.
Harris arrived in New York aboard Air Force 2 on Saturday after an early evening campaign stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to fly to Detroit, but when she boarded the plane, her aide told her she would have an unscheduled layover and the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport.
Harris arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where the SNL tapes are located. It’s the final SNL episode before Election Day Tuesday at 11:30 p.m., plenty of time for a quick rehearsal before the show goes live a little after 8 p.m.
The visit had not previously been announced, and a person familiar with Harris’ plans officially confirmed it for reporters traveling with the vice president shortly before the live broadcast began.
Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019, and reprized her role this season, doing the same impression of the vice president, including calling her “Momala.” This refers to the affectionate nickname her stepchildren gave her.
Rudolph opened the show’s season premiere with the line, “Well, well, well. Look who fell from that coconut tree.” And she joked about putting President Biden in her place.
The second gentleman, Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is reprized by former cast member Andy Samberg, while Dana Carvey appears as President Biden.
Rudolph’s performance received critical and comic praise, including from Harris himself.
“Maya Rudolph is really nice,” Harris said on ABC’s “The View” last month. “She had the suit, the jewelry, everything!”
Harris added that he was impressed by Rudolph’s “mannerisms.”
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller expressed surprise that Harris would appear on SNL, given her unfavorable portrayal of her on the show. Asked if President Trump had been invited to attend, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Still, politicians have a long history on SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015. But it’s unusual to see it so close to Election Day.
Hillary Clinton appeared next to Amy Poehler while running in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Amy Poehler was famous for her trademark exaggerated laugh during her role on the show. In fact, when Clinton appeared, he wondered, “Do I really smile that much?”
Harris repeated that line in Saturday’s episode in response to a depiction of Rudolph smiling.
Clinton returned in 2016, but ultimately lost the race to Trump.
The first sitting president to appear on SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who appeared less than a year after the show launched. Ford appeared on an April 1976 episode hosted by his press secretary, Ron Nessen, and declared the show’s famous opening rejoinder, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.”
Barack Obama, then an Illinois senator, appeared with Poehler, a Clinton impersonator, in 2007, and Republican Bob Dole appeared on the show in November 1996, just 11 days after losing to Bill Clinton in that year’s election. It was just work. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played the Kansas senator.
Then there was Tina Fey’s impression of 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In particular, she joked: “You can see Russia from my house.” It was so good that Fey ended up winning an Emmy and Palin herself appeared on the show in October, just weeks before the election.
