'SNL' recap: The real Kamala Harris stops by 3 days before the election, encouraging voters to 'end the drama-la'

Just three days before the presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris made an unannounced appearance on Saturday Night Live on her way to a series of rallies in Michigan, set to take place Sunday. The cameo brought the Democratic nominee for president face-to-face with Maya Rudolph, who has portrayed Harris for five straight weeks, and has since sparked debate about the Federal Communications Commission's equal time rule.

John Mulaney returned to host SNL for the sixth time, keeping his monologue more or less apolitical, touching on everything from his grandfather's dairy-farming roots in Wisconsin to the likelihood of his future hip replacement surgery.

Joining Mulaney was first-time musical guest Chappell Roan, who debuted a country-inspired lesbian ballad, “The Giver” after performing “Pink Pony Club” from her 2023 album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

In another surprise cameo, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 election, appeared during the “What’s That Name: Election Edition” game show sketch. In the bit, Mulaney and cast member Sarah Sherman were tasked with identifying famous political figures, a challenge that proved tricky.

“I was Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate,” Kaine said, introducing himself. “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?”

A visibly stumped Mulaney scrambled for an excuse, quipping, “It’s not my fault if he [wasn’t] a more memorable guy like Tim Walz,” referring to Harris’s running mate.

A side-by-side image of Kaine and Walz then flashed on screen, highlighting the uncanny resemblance and eliciting a laugh from the audience.

Cold open: Kamala gives herself a pep talk

In the final cold open before the election, Rudolph reprised her role as Harris as she watched clips from a chaotic Trump rally.

Cast member James Austin Johnson, who reprised his role as Trump, was seen mumbling during the rally, “Where the hell am I? This place reeks.” He then handed it off to his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (played by Bowen Yang), who asked the crowd, “Where are my normal gay guys at?” referencing a comment Vance made on Joe Rogan’s podcast last week.

Also reprising their roles were Jim Gaffigan as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Andy Samberg as second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Dana Carvey as President Biden, all of whom tried to offer Harris support before the VP saw them out of her dressing room.

When Rudolph’s Harris is finally alone, she wanted to chat with someone who’s been in her shoes: “A Black, South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area.”

When she turned to face the mirror, the real Harris was staring back at her. After a thunderous applause, the duo said to each other: “It’s nice to see you Kamala,” before Harris gave Rudolph a pep talk.

“You got this, because you can do something your opponent cannot do: You can open doors,” Harris said, a subtle jab to a clip of the real Trump appearing to have trouble opening the door to a garbage truck during a press event in Wisconsin last week.

Reacting to Rudolph’s impersonation of her laugh, the real Harris said, “I don’t really laugh like that, do I?” Rudolph responded with, “Eh, a little bit.”

Rudolph then asked Harris to “take my palm-ala” to continue their pep talk: “The American people want to stop the chaos,” Rudolph said, to which Harris followed with, “And end the drama-ala.”

“What do we always say?” Rudolph asked, prompting both of them to say together: “Keep calm-ala and carry on-ala.”

FCC backlash

The VP's cameo sparked criticism from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, who called Harris's appearance a “a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule.”

Established to maintain fairness in broadcasting, the equal time rule requires licensed broadcasters to offer equal air time to all legally qualified political candidates if one is given airtime. The rule aims to ensure that no single candidate benefits from disproportionate media exposure.

The FCC, however, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that they have “not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties.”

Who’s hosting next?

Nov. 9: Bill Burr with musical guest Mk.gee

Nov. 16: Charli XCX will act as both host and musical guest