Vice President Kamala Harris is ready to put an end to the political “dram-ala” of the 2024 presidential race, so she presented voters with a reason to laugh while simultaneously wooing their support during a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
The Nov. 2 campaign pop-up on the long-running sketch show, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, kicked off with a cold open of “SNL” alumna Maya Rudolph impersonating Harris. The entertainer first began doing an impression of the former California senator in 2019. She has since made a handful of stops by her old comedy stomping grounds to reprise the role ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Rudolph opened the skit by saying, "Well, this is it. The last campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Gosh, I just, I wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes, you know. A Black, South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area,” and then turning to face a vanity mirror. The reflection staring back at her was Harris. The first words she uttered went unheard as the audience erupted with applause.
Harris has previously praised Rudolph’s impersonation of her, telling ABC’s “The View” that “she’s so good. She had the whole thing – the suit, the jewelry, everything!” including the laugh, which they poked fun at during Saturday’s skit.
“I’m just here to remind you, you got this because you can do something your opponent cannot do, you can open doors,” Harris jeered, getting a laugh at Republican candidate former President Donald Trump. During an Oct. 30 appearance in Wisconsin, Trump nearly fell after struggling to grasp the door handle of a garbage truck that awaited him on the tarmac at the Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport.
The viral moment came one day after President Joe Biden said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” in response to backlash from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referring to Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage” at the GOP candidate’s rally.
The women would go on to exchange a monologue, finishing each other's sentences, about the American people wanting to stop the chaos and settle into the holiday season. “Because what do we always say?” Rudolph asked as the women said in unison, “Keep calm-ala and carry on-ala.” With the jokes and one last reminder for folks to get out to the polls, they delivered the signature opening line of the show, “Live from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night Live.’”
Earlier Saturday, Harris also made stops in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charolotte, North Carolina, where she delivered remarks about the home stretch of the consequential race.