Heading into a new “Saturday Night Live” hosted by the frequent guest John Mulaney on the last weekend before the presidential election, viewers were prepared for surprises. And they surely got one: a cameo appearance from Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.
And — oh yes — a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, who played herself in the show’s opening sketch, alongside Maya Rudolph, who frequently impersonates Harris on “S.N.L.”
In the sketch, Rudolph played Harris preparing for a rally in Philadelphia, speaking into a mirror and saying, “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.”
The real-life Harris appeared as Rudolph’s reflection and gave her some words of inspiration. “I’m just here to remind you: You got this,” Harris said. “Because you can do something your opponent cannot do: You can open doors.”
“S.N.L.” has a tradition of featuring presidential candidates on the show, sometimes just days before the conclusion of the presidential election.
On Nov. 1, 2008, Senator John McCain of Arizona, then the Republican nominee for president, appeared in the show’s opening sketch (along with his wife, Cindy, and the “S.N.L.” alumna Tina Fey playing his running mate, Sarah Palin). He also appeared in a Weekend Update desk segment, pitching last-minute campaign strategies for himself. Even so, that following Tuesday, McCain lost the election to the Democratic nominee, then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
A year earlier, Obama had made his own cameo in an “S.N.L.” sketch, appearing with Amy Poehler as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Darrell Hammond as former President Bill Clinton.
While she pursued the Democratic nomination for president for the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton appeared in a 2015 “S.N.L.” sketch, playing a bartender who shares political advice (and sings a few lines from “Lean on Me”) with Kate McKinnon — who was, in turn, playing Clinton in the sketch.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who also vied for the Democratic nomination in 2016, appeared on “S.N.L.” that year in a sketch with that episode’s host, Larry David, who frequently played Sanders in the show’s election parodies.
Not to be outdone, former President Donald Trump hosted an episode of “S.N.L.” in November 2015, a few months after declaring his candidacy for the 2016 election. (Trump has since become an outspoken critic of “S.N.L.,” which frequently lampooned him and his presidency.)
This weekend’s opening sketch featured James Austin Johnson as Trump, speaking at his own rally and criticizing the news media’s coverage of him.
“They’re telling lies about me, OK?” Johnson said. “I never said I wanted Liz Cheney to be shot in the face, OK? I just said I wanted her to go hunting with her dad.”
His rally was being watched on television by Rudolph, Andy Samberg (as Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff) and Jim Gaffigan (as Harris’s running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota). After excusing them and enduring a visit from Dana Carvey (as President Biden), Rudolph sought out her mirror image for a brief pep talk.
“Now Kamala, take my palm-ala,” Rudolph said, extending a hand to Harris. “The American people want to stop the chaos.”
Harris replied, “And end the drama-la.”
Rudolph continued: “With a cool, new stepmom-ala. Kick back in our pajama-las. And watch a rom-com-ala,” she said.
“Like ‘Legally Blonde’-ala,” Harris answered.
“What do we always say?” Rudolph asked. In unison, she and Harris responded, Keep Kamala and carry on-ala.”
“I’m going to vote for us,” Rudolph declared.
“Great,” Harris told her. “Any chance you are registered in Pennsylvania?”
“Nope, I am not,” Rudolph replied.
Opening monologue of the week
Mulaney, an “S.N.L.” alumnus making his sixth appearance as a host of the show, used his monologue to update viewers on recent changes in his life, including the recent birth of his daughter, Méi. While his wife, the actress Olivia Munn, is taking care of their daughter, Mulaney is looking after their 2-year-old son, Malcolm, which he acknowledged was “not an equal distribution of labor at all.” Mulaney joked, “That’s like saying, ‘I’ll transport this convict across state lines. You hold a potato.’”
Mulaney also reflected on a phone conversation he had in a drug rehabilitation facility in 2020 with his father, who had told him, “I just wish grandpa were here.” Recalling his response, Mulaney said, “Dad, if Grandpa were here, he would be 118 years old. And I highly doubt — I highly doubt — he would have good advice about handling social media backlash.”
Other political cameo of the week
While Harris got the lion’s share of the spotlight this weekend, give some credit to Kaine, who poked fun at himself (and his constituency) later in the broadcast.
Kaine showed up on a satirical game show called “What’s That Name?” in which a self-satisfied liberal contestant (played by Mulaney) had no problem identifying the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and the special counsel Jack Smith, but found himself stumped when Kaine walked onto the stage.
“I was Hillary Clinton’s running mate,” Kaine said to Mulaney. “At the time, you said it was the most important election in American history and that democracy was on the line. It’s been less than eight years. What’s my name?” (Quick hint: the answer is not Tim Tim.)
Musical satire of the week
Previous episodes hosted by Mulaney have featured sprawling musical sketches in which the attempted purchase of an undesirable item at a New York store triggers a “Forbidden Broadway”-style series of song parodies. If you are a fan of these, well, this is the latest entry in that franchise.
This time, the setting is the Duane Reade pharmacy at Port Authority, the item being purchased (by Pete Davidson, yet another special guest) is a questionable container of milk. The songs parodied included “Circle of Life” (from “The Lion King”), “Do-Re-Mi” (from “The Sound of Music”) and “Master of the House” (from “Les Misérables”). All of that, plus Samberg delivering a “Hamilton”-inspired rap as the carcass of a baby bear. Who said musical theater was dead?
Weekend Update jokes of the week
Over at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors, Colin Jost and Michael Che, mocked Trump’s campaign events, including his controversial rally at Madison Square Garden.
Jost began:
Next week the American people will decide if the next president will be Kamala Harris, or if everyone at “S.N.L.” will get audited. [His screen displayed a photograph of Donald Trump wearing an orange vest at a campaign event.] Former President Donald Trump, seen here being rescued after 30 days in a lifeboat, gave a press conference from inside a garbage truck with his name on it. And my favorite part was when he tried to open the door of the truck but missed. [He played a video clip of Trump attempting to enter the truck.] Oh my God, he looked as drunk as I’m going to be Tuesday night. Then later at a rally, Trump said that he would protect women whether the women like it or not. For example, he’s going to make everyone who’s a danger to women wear an orange vest. And then during a rally yesterday, Donald Trump complained about his microphone and appeared to mime doing something very specific to it. See if you can guess, take a look. [He played a video clip of Trump’s obscene gestures.] Dude. Even more embarrassing, the microphone immediately tapped him on the back of the head.
Che continued:
Donald Trump held a rally in Madison Square Garden and honestly, it was all white. Speakers hurled insults at minority groups, used Nazi rhetoric and suggested that Democrats should be slaughtered. [His screen displayed a photo of Kamala Harris.] But this lady’s got a weird laugh so I still can’t decide. Donald Trump defended himself from claims that he is a fascist, saying, “I am the opposite of a Nazi.” Yeah, but opposites attract, so.
Weekend Update desk appearance of the week
After a slew of recent celebrity endorsements in the presidential race, Heidi Gardner appeared at the Weekend Update desk this week as Reba McEntire, the country musician and a coach on “The Voice,” to announce that she still hasn’t made up her mind.
“See I come from a little town called McAlester, Oklahoma, and we don’t make up our minds quickly,” she told Jost. “In fact, we’ve got a saying: If you think the milk is spoiled, give it another sip.” Gardner went on to explain that she was raised “Methodist atheist,” adding, “Mama was a Republican and Daddy was Pennywise.” When Jost asked if she meant Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s “It,” she replied, “I’m a redhead, ain’t I?”
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