The 'SNL' election sketch that captures voter fatigue

Contrary to what Lorne Michaels said about no political candidates being guests Saturday Night Live Before the polls close on Tuesday, the biggest surprise of the show's final primary episode was… a cameo from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Harris appeared in the final minutes of the cold opening using an oft-repeated mirror premise, sitting across from Maya Rudolph (who has portrayed the vice president since 2019) and exchanging tongue-in-cheek dialogue that added an “-ala” to the end of the words. “The American people want to stop the chaos,” Rudolph began before Harris joined again, “and end the drama.”

The light — and relatively straightforward — moment contrasted with James Austin Johnson's burned-out take on Donald Trump that kicked off the cold start. Johnson mocked the former president's speech at his rally on Wednesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, briefly dismissing his impersonation, which regularly involves Trump jumping from one topic to another without any firm footing. Instead, he seemed to break the fourth wall: “Get me out of here,” he said, slumping over the podium. “Make it stop.” It was hard to tell how much of the sentiment came from the comedian's Trump character and how much came from Johnson himself.

But another sketch from last night made clearer the exhaustion of the current political moment — and the way high-risk rhetoric can repeat itself from election cycle to election cycle. The recurring game show segment “What's That Name?”, which mocks candidates' ability to remember the names of minor celebrities but not those of the people they meet every day, returned for an election edition. The segment, which aired shortly after Harris' visit, felt more culturally savvy and had an unexpected political guest star.

The episode's host, John Mulaney, played a news junkie who was questioned about the lesser-known players in the 2024 general election, such as Special Counsel Jack Smith. The candidate was well-informed about what was happening — and clearly quite proud of it — because, as he preachily put it, “This is the most important election in American history. “Democracy is at stake.” In contrast to the roar of excitement that Harris' guest appearance evoked in the audience moments earlier – a cheer that lasted nearly 30 seconds and stopped Harris and Rudolph from entering the scene – Mulaney's character line was triggering There was a faint hint of applause that barely registered as “clapping.”

The skit coyly upped the ante of such all-or-nothing chatter – important but also familiar – when the game's host (played by Michael Longfellow, following Bill Hader's original move) brought out Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Recalling his time as Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 campaign, Kaine described an elaborate scheme: “Back then you said it was the most important election in American history and democracy was at stake. It's been less than eight years. What's my name?” Struggling to find an answer that would allow him to save face, Mulaney's candidate ultimately had the chance to blame Kaine for not being as memorable as current vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. Longfellow's game show host was pleased to see Mulaney's usual smugness disappear and placed a photo of Kaine side by side with Walz to demonstrate that not only do they look alike, but they also share the same name. “Really? His name was Tim?” Mulaney asked, to which Kaine provided the absolutely perfect answer: “My name is still Tim. I exist.”

The sketch seemed to be SNLis an attempt to balance the cold-bloodedness of candor with a more caustic tone about the tedious challenges of deciding how to lead the nation. The show appears to understand these challenges more clearly than it did in 2016, when, in a widely criticized move, it invited Trump to host an episode. (Hillary Clinton appeared a month before Trump, playing a bartender named Val who listened as Kate McKinnon's caricature of Clinton expressed concern about the upcoming election.) By having Harris, but not Trump, on the show (albeit for a much smaller guest appearance than her). Competitor received once), SNL appears to be making at least a little more of a political claim than in the past — and in a way that has already drawn criticism from one of the FCC's Republican commissioners for potentially violating the concurrent rule. But with its longer take, “What's That Name?” brought home the evening's subtler, sterner point.