Live from New York: Harris making surprise 'Saturday Night Live' appearance with election looming

NEW YORK -- Live from New York, it’s a statesmanlike campaigner scrounging for each ballot successful nan last days earlier nan election.

Vice President Kamala Harris made a astonishment travel to New York City connected Saturday to look connected “ Saturday Night Live,” concisely stepping distant from nan battleground states wherever she’s been furiously campaigning successful favour of nan iconic sketch drama show.

Harris departed connected Air Force Two aft an early evening run extremity connected successful Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to caput to Detroit, but erstwhile successful nan air, aides said she'd beryllium making an unscheduled extremity and nan level landed astatine LaGuardia Airport successful Queens.

She was appearing successful nan acold unfastened kicking disconnected nan show, her run confirmed, and nan vice president's motorcade arrived astatine 30 Rockefeller Plaza successful Manhattan, wherever SNL tapes, soon aft 8 p.m. — capable clip for a speedy rehearsal earlier nan show airs unrecorded astatine 11:30 p.m.

It's nan last SNL section earlier Election Day connected Tuesday.

Actor Maya Rudolph first played Harris connected nan show successful 2019 and has reprised her role this season, doing a spot-on belief of nan vice president, including calling herself “Momala.”

Rudolph opened nan show’s play premiere pinch nan line: “Well, well, well. Look who fell retired of that coconut tree.” And she’s joked astir keeping President Joe Biden successful his place.

Harris' husband, 2nd man Doug Emhoff, has been played by erstwhile formed personnel Andy Samberg and Biden is played by Dana Carvey, who besides famously played then-President George H.W. Bush successful nan early 1990s.

Rudolph's capacity has won captious and comedic acclaim — including from Harris herself.

“Maya Rudolph — I mean, she’s truthful good,” Harris said past period connected ABC's “The View.” “She had nan full thing, nan suit, nan jewelry, everything!”

Harris added that she was impressed pinch Rudolph’s “mannerisms."

Jason Miller, a elder advisor to erstwhile president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, expressed astonishment that Harris would look connected SNL fixed what he characterized arsenic her unflattering portrayal connected nan show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not.”

Politicians nevertheless person a agelong history connected SNL, including Trump, who hosted nan show successful 2015 — though appearing truthful adjacent to Election Day is unusual.

Hillary Clinton was moving successful nan 2008 Democratic statesmanlike superior erstwhile she appeared adjacent to Amy Poehler, who played her connected nan show and was known for launching into a trademark, exaggerated cackle. The existent Clinton wondered during her appearance, “Do I really laughter for illustration that?”

Clinton returned successful 2016, while moving against Trump successful a title she yet lost.

The first sitting president to look connected SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who did truthful little than a twelvemonth aft nan show debuted. Ford appeared successful April 1976 connected an section hosted by his property secretary, Ron Nessen, and declared nan show’s celebrated opening rejoinder, “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night.”

Then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama appeared alongside Poehler impersonating Clinton successful 2007, and Republican Bob Dole was connected nan show successful November 1996 -- a specified 11 days aft losing that year’s predetermination to Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played nan Kansas senator.

Then location was Tina Fey’s 2008 belief of vice statesmanlike campaigner Sarah Palin — and successful peculiar her joke that “I tin spot Russia from my house.” It was truthful bully that Fey yet won an Emmy and Palin herself appeared connected nan show that October, successful nan weeks earlier nan election.

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Long, Miller and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.