Harris Appears on 'Saturday Night Live' as Mirror Image of Maya Rudolph with Election Looming

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

Actor Maya 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.”

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, has been played by former cast member Andy Samberg and Biden is played by Dana Carvey, who also famously played then-President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.

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."

Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller expressed surprise that Harris would appear on Saturday Night Live 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 have a long history on SNL, including Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump , who hosted the show in 2015.

Hillary Clinton was running for president in the 2008 Democratic primary when she appeared next to Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and offered a trademark, exaggerated cackle. The real Clinton wondered during her appearance, “Do I really laugh like that?”

Clinton returned in 2016, while running against Trump in a race she ultimately lost.

The first sitting president to appear on Saturday Night Live was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show debuted. Ford appeared on April 17, 1976, and declared the show’s famous opening, “Live from New York.”

Barack Obama was still just a Democratic presidential candidate when he appeared in February 2008, and Republican Bob Dole made an appearance in 1996 -- a mere 11 days after losing that year’s election to Democrat Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald who played the Kansas senator on the show.

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 won an Emmy award. Palin herself appeared on the show that season, in the weeks before the election.