Harris opens SNL, urges US to ‘keep Calm-ala’ before election

Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris appeared on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) TV comedy show on Saturday, adding a surprise jolt to the US presidential election just days before her showdown with Republican Donald Trump.

Harris portrayed herself, appearing in a mirror opposite the actor who plays her on the show, Maya Rudolph, who was nervously preparing for a campaign speech. Dressed identically in a black suit and pearls, the two traded variations on Harris’ first name, saying Americans want to “end the drama-la” in politics “with a cool new stepmom-ala.”

“Keep Calm-ala and carry on-ala,” they said in unison.

“I don’t really laugh like that, do I?” Harris asked, after Rudolph imitated her distinctive chortle.

“A little bit,” Rudolph responded.

Harris was making her first appearance on the show, which has had other presidential candidates over its decades-long run.

“It was fun,” she told reporters on the tarmac before flying to Detroit in the battleground state of Michigan.

Trump appeared on SNL during his first presidential bid in 2015, where he poked fun at his tendency to exaggerate and steer clear of policy specifics. He also appeared in 2004.

A Trump aide said on Saturday that he did not know whether the former president had been invited to appear this year.

Also read: Harris tops Trump in Iowa in latest Des Moines Register poll