NEW YORK – Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance “Saturday evening live” in the final days before the presidential election, she played herself as the mirror-image doppelgänger of Maya Rudolph’s version of her in the show’s cold open.
The first lines the candidate spoke as she sat across from Rudolph, their outfits identical, were drowned out by cheers from the audience.
“It’s nice to see you Kamala,” Harris said to Rudolph with a wide grin that she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you that you have this.”
Simultaneously, the two supporters declared that they must “Keep Kamala and carry-on-ala,” that they share each other’s “faith in the promise of America” and signed the signature “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Harris made the surprise trip to New York before Tuesday’s election, taking a brief break from the battleground states where she has been campaigning. With his appearance on NBC’s sketch comedy show, the Democratic nominee hoped to generate buzz and appeal to a national audience.
Harris had left Charlotte, North Carolina, and was going to Detroit, but once in the air, aides said she would land elsewhere. The performance was only confirmed by Harris’ team just before the live broadcast began.
The vice president arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan shortly after 8 p.m., where the “SNL” tapes allowed enough time for a quick rehearsal shortly after 8 p.m. before the show aired live at 11:30 p.m. It was the last “SNL” episode before Election Day.
She left immediately after the opening segment, telling reporters, “It was fun!” as she boarded her plane to Michigan.
Host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan shifted the show away from politics. Neither talked about the election.
Some expected Roan, the 26-year-old singer who has become a huge star in recent months, to make a political statement during her first appearance on the show. She has previously been fiercely critical of the Democratic Party and refused to support Harris in her campaign against Republican Donald Trump, although Roan has said several times that she plans to vote for her.
Roan sang her hit ‘Pink Pony Club’ on an all-pink set bathed in pink light and made no comments.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also made a surprise appearance in a game show sketch in which the joke was that no one remembered him despite being Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016.
“It’s been less than eight years. What’s my name?’, he said, as the participants stood silent and stunned.
Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019 and has done so resumed her role This season, she did a spot-on impression of the vice president, calling herself “Momala” — a reference to the affectionate nickname Harris’ stepchildren gave her.
Fellow former cast member Andy Samberg reappeared as Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan played Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Dana Carvey, best known on the show for her role as President George HW Bush in the late 1980s, replaced President Joe Biden.
Rudolph’s performance has received critical and comedic acclaim, including from Harris himself.
“Maya Rudolph – I mean, she’s so good,” Harris said last month on ABC’s “The View.” “She had the whole thing, the suit, the jewelry, everything!”
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, expressed surprise that Harris would appear on “SNL,” given what Miller characterized as her unflattering portrayal on the show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, Miller replied: “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Politicians nevertheless have a long history on “SNL,” including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015. But showing up so close to Election Day is unusual.
Clinton entered the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries when she appeared alongside Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and was known for her trademark, exaggerated cackle. The real Clinton asked herself during her performance: “Am I really smiling like that?”
Harris repeated that phrase in response to Rudolph’s display of her laugh in Saturday’s episode.
Clinton returned in 2016, when she ran against Trump, who won the election.
The first sitting president to appear on “SNL” was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show’s debut. Ford appeared on an episode hosted by his press secretary, Ron Nessen, in April 1976 and stated, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”
Then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois appeared in 2007 with Poehler posing as Clinton. Republican Bob Dole was on the show in November 1996 – just eleven days after losing that year’s election to Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played the Kansas senator.
Then there was Tina Fey’s 2008 impression of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — and in particular her joke that “I can see Russia from my house.” It was so good that Fey won an Emmy and Palin himself appeared on the show in October, in the weeks before the election.
___
Long, Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Stay up to date on Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
Originally published: