Kamala Harris steps onto SNL stage following a long-standing tradition of political figures trying their hand at comedy. Its gonna be interesting to see how she handles the spotlight
Back in fall of ʼ15‚ Hillary Clinton showed up on NBCʼs late-night comedy show before the primary season: she played a fun-loving bartender (which was quite different from her usual public image).
Thatʼs the first time Iʼve ever heard that
A month later Donald Trump joined the show doing a sketch about his made-up future presidency - he joked about not needing specific policies; while his daughter Ivanka played interior secretary who covered the Washington Monument in gold glass
The show faced some push-back from Latino groups who didnt like Trumps appearance because of his views on immigration. During SNLs 40th anniversary show Sarah Palin made headlines when she joked about picking Trump as her vice-president (which never happened in real-life)
The show has a history of hosting candidates from both sides of the aisle:
- Barack Obama tried his comedy skills in ʼ08
- John McCain appeared that same year
- Hillary Clinton came back several times
- Trump hosted multiple episodes before becoming president
SNL keeps mixing politics and comedy even though some appearances create more drama than laughs - its become a kind of unofficial campaign stop for politicians who want to show their lighter side