The rumors were true: hours after The New York Post first reported that Vice President Kamala Harris would make an unannounced appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” the Democratic presidential nominee did just that — interrupting the show’s cold open sketch on November 2, 2024, to thunderous applause.
With two days until Election Day, Harris appeared during the show’s opening sketch alongside “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph, who has played Harris as a guest star on the show since October 2019, an impression that won her the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Harris appeared at the end of the cold open, when Rudolph — playing Harris — said she wished she could talk to someone in her shoes during the days before the election. Harris then appeared on the other side of her mirror, giving her a pep talk. The two recited several lines in unison, including saying that their motto was “Keep Kamala and Carry On-ala.”
FCC Commissioner Takes Issue With Kamala Harris Appearing on ‘SNL’
GettyUS Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
After a day of campaigning in Charlotte and Atlanta, Harris headed to New York City for her surprise “SNL” appearance. According to Deadline, Air Force 2 landed around 7:30 p.m. Eastern time for a stop that had not appeared on her schedule previously. An updated schedule from the White House said she’d be back in the air, headed for Detroit, just two hours later at 9:40 p.m. Eastern time.
An “insider” at the show told The New York Post that the “Secret Service is here” and that Harris’ appearance has “all been hush-hush.”
The paper also reported that the November 2 episode, hosted by comedian John Mulaney, would feature surprise appearances by Virginia senator Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016 and is currently running for his third term, and “SNL” alum Pete Davidson.
As news spread of Harris’ upcoming appearance, Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, took issue with the stunt, tweeting, “This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule. The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns.”
Carr was nominated to the FCC in 2017 by former President Donald Trump, who is running against Harris in hopes of regaining the presidency.
Vice President Kamala Harris Called Maya Rudolph’s Impression of Her ‘So Good’
During an appearance on “The View” on October 8, Harris’ jaw dropped when they played a clip of one of Rudolph’s recent “SNL” sketches. Laughing, she said she hadn’t seen the sketch they aired.
“It’s so good,” she said. “Maya Rudolph — I mean, she’s so good. She had the whole thing — the suit, the jewelry, everything! Wow, the mannerisms!”
The Vice President’s appearance was her first time on “SNL.” Her Republican opponent in the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump, has appeared on the show twice — as host in 2004 and again in 2015, during his first presidential campaign.
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