NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in the final days before the election, playing herself as a mirror image of Maya Rudolph’s version of her.

The first lines spoken by the candidate while sitting across from Rudolph were drowned out by cheers from the audience.

“It’s nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph, “and I’m just here to remind you that you have this.”

In sync, the two supporters said they must “keep Kamala and carry on-ala,” said they shared “each other’s belief in the promise of America” ​​and signed “Live from New York, it’s Saturday evening!

Harris made the surprise trip to New York in the run-up to the election, briefly stepping away from the battleground states where she campaigned hard for the iconic sketch show, where she hoped to generate buzz and attract a national audience.

Harris arrived in New York aboard Air Force Two after an early evening campaign stop Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to fly to Detroit, but once in the air, aides announced she would have an unscheduled layover and the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport.

Harris arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where SNL is recording, shortly after 8 p.m., enough time for a quick rehearsal before the live broadcast at 11:30 p.m. This is the last episode of SNL before Election Day on Tuesday.

The visit had not been previously announced and an official close to Harris’ project only officially confirmed it to reporters traveling with the vice president moments before the live broadcast began. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the plans before they were made public.

Harris left immediately after the opening segment. She told reporters: “It was fun! » as she boarded the plane to leave New York.

Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019 and reprized her role this season, doing a pitch-perfect impression of the vice president, including calling herself “Momala” — a reference to her stepchildren’s affectionate nickname for her. gave.

Rudolph opened the show’s season premiere with the line: “Well, well. Look who fell from that coconut tree. And she joked about keeping President Joe Biden in his place.

Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, was played again by former cast member Andy Samberg and Dana Carvey appeared as President Joe Biden.

Rudolph’s performance received critical and comedy acclaim, including by Harris herself.

“Maya Rudolph — I mean, she’s so good,” Harris said last month on ABC’s “The View.” “She had everything, the costume, the jewelry, everything! »

Harris added that she was impressed by Rudolph’s “mannerisms.”

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, said he was surprised Harris would appear on SNL given what he called her unflattering portrayal on the show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, he replied: “I don’t know. Probably not.

Politicians nevertheless have a long history on SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015 — although appearing so close to Election Day is unusual.

Hillary Clinton was a candidate in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary when she appeared alongside Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and was known for breaking into a signature exaggerated laugh. The real Clinton asked herself during her appearance: “Am I really laughing like that?”

Harris repeated this phrase in response to Rudolph’s depiction of his laughter in Saturday’s episode.

Clinton returned in 2016, when she ran against Trump in a race she ultimately lost.

The first sitting president to appear on SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show began. Ford appeared in an April 1976 episode hosted by his publicist, Ron Nessen, and said the show’s famous opening line: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”

Barack Obama, then an Illinois senator, appeared alongside Poehler impersonating Clinton in 2007, and Republican Bob Dole was on the show in November 1996, just 11 days after losing that election. that year against Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played the Kansas senator.

Then there was the impression Tina Fey gave in 2008 about vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin — and particularly her joke that “I can see Russia from my house.” It was so good that Fey eventually won an Emmy, and Palin herself appeared on the show in October, in the weeks leading up to the election.

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

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