Instead of being out on the campaign trail, speaking to voters in rural areas or those who may be undecided, Vice President Kamala Harris chose to appear alongside Hollywood actress Maya Rudolph in the cameo of Saturday Night Live just days before the 2024 election.
During the skit, Harris appeared as the "mirror image" of herself, played by Rudolph. The two mocked former President Donald Trump, who was wearing a neon sanitation vest in a garbage truck, President Biden’s repeated gaffes, and a few plays on words in Harris’ first name.
Live from New York, it's Saturday night.pic.twitter.com/qQ2IJdqqFA
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 3, 2024
However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) questioned whether Harris violated its rules.
FCC Brendan Carr said Harris’ skit was a "clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule.”
“The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct - a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election,” the Republican wrote on X.
This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct - a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.… https://t.co/LliZF0po9t
Federal law requires that broadcasters provide comparable time and placement to all legally qualified candidates when the Equal Time rule is triggered.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
With only days before the election, NBC appears to have structured this appearance in a way that evades these requirements.… pic.twitter.com/PjrgWCqsgy
In October, SNL's creator, Lorne Michaels, insisted he would not bring any presidential candidates to the show due to election and equal time laws.
"You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions,’ Michaels said at the time.
The Trump campaign team blasted Harris’ SNL appearance, saying she lived out her “warped fantasy” and cosplayed with her elitist friends.
“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," Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.