NEW YORK — Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in the final days before the election, playing herself as the mirror-image double of Maya Rudolph’s version of her.
The first lines the candidate spoke as she sat across from Rudolph was drowned out by cheers from the audience.
“It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph, “and I’m just here to remind you you got this.”
In sync, the two said supporters need to “Keep Kamala and carry-on-ala,” declared that they share each other’s “belief in the promise of America,” and delivered the signature “Live from New York it’s Saturday night!”
Harris made the surprise trip to New York City with the election looming, briefly stepping away from the battleground states where she’s been furiously campaigning in favor of the iconic sketch comedy show, where she was hoping to generate buzz and appeal to a nationwide audience.
Harris arrived in New York on Air Force Two after an early evening campaign stop Saturday on in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to head to Detroit, but once in the air, aides said she’d be making an unscheduled stop and the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport.
Harris arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where SNL tapes, shortly after 8 p.m., enough time for a quick rehearsal before the show airs live at 11:30 p.m. It is the final SNL episode before Election Day on Tuesday.
The visit wasn’t previously announced and an official familiar with Harris’ planning only officially confirmed it for reporters traveling with the vice president moments before the live airing began. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss plans before they were made public.
Harris departed immediately after the opening segment. She told reporters, “It was fun!” as she boarded the plane to leave New York.
Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019 and has reprised her role this season, doing a spot-on impression of the vice president, including calling herself “Momala” — a reference to the affectionate nickname her stepchildren gave her.
Rudolph opened the show’s season premiere with the line: “Well, well, well. Look who fell out of that coconut tree.” And she’s joked about keeping President Joe Biden in his place.
Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, was played again by former cast member Andy Samberg and Dana Carvey appeared as President Joe Biden.
Rudolph’s performance has won critical and comedic acclaim — including from Harris herself.
“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!”
Harris added that she was impressed with Rudolph’s “mannerisms.”
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, expressed surprise that Harris would appear on SNL given what he characterized as her unflattering portrayal on the show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Politicians nonetheless have a long history on SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015 — though appearing so close to Election Day is unusual.
Hillary Clinton was running in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary when she appeared next to Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and was known for launching into a trademark, exaggerated cackle. The real Clinton wondered during her appearance, “Do I really laugh like that?”
Harris repeated that line in response to Rudolph’s portrayal of her laugh in Saturday’s episode.
Clinton returned in 2016, while running against Trump in a race she ultimately lost.
The first sitting president to appear on SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show debuted. Ford appeared in April 1976 on an episode hosted by his press secretary, Ron Nessen, and declared the show’s famous opening rejoinder, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.”
Then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama appeared alongside Poehler impersonating Clinton in 2007, and Republican Bob Dole was on the show in November 1996 — a mere 11 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 eventually won an Emmy and Palin herself appeared on the show that October, in the weeks before the election.
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Long, Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.