Harris joins line of politicians appearing on 'Saturday Night Live'


  • World
  • Sunday, 03 Nov 2024

FIL PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., November 1, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kamala Harris' appearance on "Saturday Night Live," a late surprise by the Democratic presidential candidate in her race against Republican Donald Trump, follows in the footsteps of past candidates, including Trump himself.

In October 2015, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on the NBC-TV comedy and political satire show as she was preparing to engage in a string of Democratic primaries early the following year.

Clinton, playing a bartender, was told by an SNL cast member that she was "really easy to talk to." Clinton, in character, responded, "That's the first time I've ever heard that" - a dig at her reputation for appearing icy in public.

The following month, the long-running late-night show gave equal time to Trump, who would beat Clinton in the 2016 election, appearing in a sketch looking ahead two years into a White House term.

"I don't have to get specific" about policy, the future Trump said in a riff about his lack of experience in politics and governance.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, who in real life later landed a high-level White House job during her father's presidency, played his secretary of the interior, saying the Washington Monument was now blanketed in gold-mirrored glass, mocking her father's penchant for opulence.

While the sketch got some laughs, it prompted outrage from Latino activists who protested what they called Trump's racist views on immigration.

And then there was former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who appeared on a 40th anniversary SNL show in 2015 at a time when there was speculation that she was mulling a White House run - only to claim on the show that she would consider Trump as her vice presidential running mate.

The fiction failed to become fact, as Palin never joined the presidential race.

SNL separately hosted both Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain in 2008.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by William Mallard)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In World

IMF forecasts 2.5 pct growth for BiH in 2024
Chinese ambassador hails economic partnership with UK
U.S. dollar ticks up
Mexico's controversial judicial elections face possible delay
US lawmakers seek to halt weapons sales to UAE, citing Sudan
Weekly storage of natural gas in U.S. decreases: EIA
BiH exports fall 4.8 pct amid rising imports in Jan.-Oct.
German minister clears way for Scholz to run for second term
T�rkiye's electric car registrations up 64 pct in Jan.-Oct.
Czech EV production plummets as overall car output rises

Others Also Read