Saturday Night Live has been ramping up its attention on politics as the presidential election approaches, so it was only expected that as we approach the finish line, November 2 delivered a “surprise” appearance by one of the candidates. Obviously, there was little chance of Donald Trump dropping in on the show, which has often made him the butt of the joke, which means it was Vice President Kamala Harris who showed up for the show’s cold-open, appearing alongside Maya Rudolph as…well, Kamala Harris, of course.
This 50th anniversary season featured an array of comedic icons and returning guests. Dana Carvey reprised his role as President Biden, while Alec Baldwin also made a surprise comeback to the show after his recent courtroom appearances in relation to the fatal shooting on the set of his movie Rust. And, of course, Maya Rudolph has been back playing Kamala Harris, which paid off to full effect with this weekend’s episode.
The comedy sketch show has been pulling out some big cameo appearances and guest hosts in celebration of its 50th season. The current state of politics has always been a big part of SNL’s humor, and in an election year there is a lot to be satirized. Harris’s visit, which was reportedly unannounced until the last minute, saw her acting as a mirror image – literally – of Rudolph’s version of her, as he gave a pep talk ahead of what is being seen as one of the most important elections in U.S. history.
Kamala Harris Gives an SNL Style Pep Talk to Herself
In the cold-open, Harris appears as the mirror image of Rudolph’s version of herself. Harris, in between bouts of applause from the audience, said:
It’s nice to see you, Kamala, and I’m just here to remind you, you got this. You can do something your opponent cannot do like open doors.
Harris’ comment was a direct jab at her opponent, Donald Trump, who appeared earlier in the week by a garbage truck and made a bit of a meal of opening the cab door and climbing up behind the wheel. The pair then had a short tete-a-tete, speaking about their “belief in the promise of America”, and urging supporters to “Keep Kamala and carry-on-ala.” Finishing the sketch with the show’s classic, “Live from New York it’s Saturday night” line, Harris then headed off to continue her campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s voting.
Just prior to Harris’ appearance, the cold-open included Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden was joined by Jim Gaffigan as Harris’ running mate Tim Waltz and Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, and it wouldn’t be SNL without Republican candidate Donald Trump taking a ribbing – with James Austin Johnson playing the Republican. The political comedy continued throughout the show, with Senator Tim Kaine making a cameo in a game show sketch in which no one could remember his name.
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Alec Baldwin Makes Shocking Return to Saturday Night Live in Cold Open
Alec Baldwin made a surprise return to Saturday Night Live months after charges against him in the Rust shooting were dismissed.
This was the last chance that SNL had to take their shots before the election, but you can guarantee that the show will be back with a response to the results of Tuesday’s decision, whichever way that goes. As a show that has thrives on poking fun at the state of U.S. politics, there is clearly going to be a lot more to dissect in the coming weeks.
The longest-running sketch-comedy/satire show on television, premiering in 1975, Saturday Night Live is a weekly series that features new hosts for each episode, with a core cast of actors and comedians that rotate over time. Episodes feature several skits that are sometimes ad-libbed on the fly, with the hosts engaging in most of them, and also provide musical guest performances that cap off each night.
- Release Date
- October 11, 1975
- Cast
- Leslie Jones , Aidy Bryant , Kyle Mooney , Alex Moffat , Kate McKinnon , Beck Bennett , Kenan Thompson , Colin Jost , Mikey Day , Cecily Strong , Michael Che , Pete Davidson , Melissa Villaseñor
- Seasons
- 48
- Franchise
- snl
- Story By
- Colin Jost
- Network
- NBC