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Live from New York, it's Kamala Harris: the VP has a cameo on 'Saturday Night Live'

Maya Rudolph and Vice President Harris in the cold open comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live at NBC studios in New York City on Nov. 2, 2024.
Charly Triballeau
/
AFP
Maya Rudolph and Vice President Harris in the cold open comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live at NBC studios in New York City on Nov. 2, 2024.

Updated November 03, 2024 at 00:07 AM ET

NEW YORK — Vice President Harris made a surprise trip to New York City to appear on Saturday Night Live, mocking her opponent, the political men in her life, the historic nature of her candidacy and even her name.

Harris appeared as the mirror image of Maya Rudolph — who plays Harris on the show — giving her advice before the final speech of her campaign in Pennsylvania.

"What do we always say? 'Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala,'" Harris and Rudolph said in unison.

Harris — who has expressed admiration for Rudolph’s send-up of her as “America’s fun aunt” — was campaigning in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday. Reporters traveling with the vice president had expected to then head to Detroit, but after take-off, found out they were instead going to New York.

The sketch comedy show has hosted many of the politicians it mocks over its 50 seasons. In 2015, when he was seeking the Republican nomination, Donald Trump hosted the show.

Trump has since soured on SNL, complaining about it on his social media platform as being a "campaign contribution to the Democrats."

The show’s musical guest on Saturday Chappell Roan has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza. Because of that, Roan said she declined a White House invitation for a Pride Month event. She has said she would vote for Harris but did not endorse her.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Corrected: November 2, 2024 at 6:30 PM MST
A previous version of this story mistakenly said Donald Trump delivered a cold open monologue in 2015. In fact, he hosted the show.
Asma Khalid
Asma Khalid is a White House correspondent for NPR. She also co-hosts The NPR Politics Podcast. Khalid is a bit of a campaign-trail addict, having reported on the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections. She joined NPR's Washington team in 2016 to focus on the intersection of demographics and politics. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she covered the crowded Democratic primary field, and then went on to report on Joe Biden's candidacy. Her reporting often dives into the political, cultural and racial divides in the country. Before joining NPR's political team, Khalid was a reporter for Boston's NPR station WBUR, where she was nearly immediately flung into one of the most challenging stories of her career — the Boston Marathon bombings. She had joined the network just a few weeks prior, but went on to report on the bombings, the victims, and the reverberations throughout the city. She also covered Boston's failed Olympic bid and the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger. Later, she led a new business and technology team at the station that reported on the future of work. In addition to countless counties across America, Khalid's reporting has taken her to Pakistan, the United Kingdom and China. She got her start in journalism in her home state of Indiana, but she fell in love with radio through an internship at the BBC Newshour in London during graduate school. She's been a guest on numerous TV programs including ABC's This Week, CNN's Inside Politics and PBS's Washington Week. Her reporting has been recognized with the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, as well as awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Gracie Award. A native of Crown Point, Ind., Khalid is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington. She has also studied at the University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, the American University in Beirut and Middlebury College's Arabic school. [Copyright 2024 NPR]