‘SNL’ accused of ripping off Trump skit with Fallon in 2015 for Kamala Harris surprise appearance
“Saturday Night Live” is accused of ripping off a skit that former President Donald Trump did with Jimmy Fallon on the “Tonight Show” in 2015, using the same concept for Kamala Harris’ surprise appearance.
Harris made a last-second appearance on the late-night show on Nov. 2, when she gave her fictional self — portrayed by Maya Rudolph — advice before the presidential election.
In the cold open, Rudolph’s Harris shooed away Andy Samberg, playing second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan as running mate Tim Walz and Dana Carvey’s President Joe Biden, from her dressing room in Philadelphia after discussing their campaign.
Rudolph sat down on a chair next to her dressing room mirror and wished somebody could give her advice for the final days of the campaign.
“I wish I could talk to someone in my shoes,” Rudolph said to herself in an empty room.
The real Harris suddenly appeared on the other side of the dressing room mirror and exclaimed, “You and me both sister!”
The pair poked fun at Harris’ screechy laugh and the “dramala” of politics before the Democratic nominee for president asked her impersonator “any chance you’re registered in Pennsylvania?” — a vital swing state where Trump is slightly in the lead, according to a new Quinnipiac survey.
The pair signed off with the iconic “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Viewers noticed the concept and set looked strikingly familiar to Donald Trump’s sketch on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” show spot from when he was running for president on Sept. 12, 2015.
Jimmy Fallon, a former “Saturday Night Live” member, portrayed Trump during the airing of his late-night talk show.
He sat down at what looked like nearly the exact dressing room mirror, saying “Wow, I look fantastic” when Trump – just like Kamala – appeared on the other side of the mirror.
“No, we look fantastic and I mean really fantastic,” Trump said.
The two Trumps discussed preparing for the then-second Republican Primary Debate, creating jobs, immigration, taxes, his potential vice president pick and him being “really rich.”
In both skits, which aired on NBC programs, the comedians mirrored the politicians’ hand movements and expressions as they spoke.
Viewers didn’t shy away from pointing out the similar sketches.
“Kamala ripped off the same bit Trump did when he was on Saturday Night Live in 2015 …and Trump’s was double the length,” radio host Ari Hoffman said on X.
“Kamala on SNL can’t even be ORIGINAL… had to plagiarize Trump and his much funnier skit. She’s soooo CRINGE,” another user commented.
Harris held campaign rallies in Atlanta and Charlotte, NC. earlier Saturday before she traveled to 30 Rock for her “SNL” spot. She left the building shortly after her appearance and landed in Detroit early Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign blasted Harris for going on the late-night sketch show days before the presidential election.
“Kamala Harris has nothing substantive to offer the American people, so that’s why she’s living out her warped fantasy cosplaying with her elitist friends on Saturday Night Leftists as her campaign spirals down the drain into obscurity. For the last four years, Kamala’s destructive policies have led to untold misery and hurt for all Americans. She broke it, and President Trump will fix it,” spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News.