Kamala Harris was quickly mocked after it was revealed she would make a surprise cameo on Saturday Night Live days after dodging an invite to the Joe Rogan podcast.
The vice president was branded a ‘joke’ after adding a previously unannounced stop in New York on Saturday night to appear on the sketch show, diverting her plane to make the last-minute appearance.
Critics compared Harris’ efforts to appear on SNL with her campaign’s reason for avoiding Rogan, as they reportedly ordered him to travel to her despite both being in the same state.
Others pointed to Harris’ reluctance to sit down for interviews, with Rogan’s podcast known for its meandering, conversational interviews that last for hours while Harris’ campaign insisted they speak for no longer than an hour.
Kamala Harris was quickly mocked after she announced a surprise cameo on Saturday Night Live days after dodging an invite to the Joe Rogan podcast
Kamala Harris seen waving to photographers as she lands at LaGuardia Airport on Saturday night ahead of her surprise appearance on SNL
Former candidate for Governor of California Michael Shellenberger led criticisms of Harris’ move.
He said on X: ‘That (Harris) decided to do a scripted SNL sketch instead of sitting down for a substantive conversation with Joe Rogan perfectly captures the vapid, insular and condescending way she has run her entire campaign.’
Another critic noted how Harris’ campaign surrogates attempted to argue that Rogan should have ‘come to her’ for their interview after the comedian refused to travel, but now she ‘could drop everything’ to appear on SNL.
‘Hold up… did SNL come to her? I mean, she’s so busy she at any be expected to travel somewhere to do a show,’ joked another.
Others pointed to Harris’ reluctance to appear on interviews in the home stretch of the election, particularly after struggling in a series of interviews after her nomination.
‘Kamala was afraid to go on Rogan,’ one critic said on X. ‘SNL will coddle her.’
Former candidate for Governor of California Michael Shellenberger led criticisms of Harris’ move
The Trump campaign said in a statement that Harris’ SNL appearance is because she has ‘nothing substantive to offer the American people.’
‘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,’ the Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said.
‘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.’
During her appearance on Saturday night, Harris is likely to come face-to-face with SNL veteran cast member Maya Rudolph, who was specifically cast to play the vice president after Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Although the SNL appearance is likely to draw millions of eyeballs, she was criticized by many after failing to lock in an interview with Rogan.
He interviewed Donald Trump just over a week ago to record ratings of over 17 million views on YouTube in less than 24 hours.
SNL gets less than five million views per episode, so her appearance tonight will reach considerably less Americans than a Rogan sit-down would have.
Rogan confirmed that Harris refused to come on his podcast over scheduling conflicts and a clash about how long the interview would last, saying her campaign was ‘very difficult.’