Fans slam SNL for trying to resuscitate Kamala Harris’s Fox interview performance as she sinks in the polls: ‘This was pathetic’
Saturday Night Live fans are up in arms over a skit they say was intended to save Kamala Harris’ face.
The sketch featured a recently approved Alec Baldwin taking on the role of Fox News’ Bret Baier in a surprise guest appearance. Opposite him was veteran cast member Maya Rudolph, who replaced the vice president.
A subsequent back-and-forth appeared to poke fun at the news anchor’s handling of interviews, which many criticized as crude.
The cold opening, in turn, contained several instances in which Baldwin’s Baier interrupted Rudolph and portrayed the questions of personality as combative.
However, several onlookers online remained unconvinced, claiming that the display was a lame attempt to elicit a more favorable verdict from the court of public opinion.
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Saturday Night Live fans are up in arms over a skit that allegedly tried to save Kamala Harris’ face
Baldwin and Rudolph parodied the vice president’s Fox News interview that aired earlier this week (photo)
“Well, Kamala is sinking in the polls, so a desperate @nbcsnl pulled out his big ‘guns,’” wrote one such user on X.
“Yes, that was @AlecBaldwin playing the Fox News journalist! Too early?’ they then asked, referring to the regular host’s recently concluded manslaughter case.
‘Nice shot’ SNL, but @realDonaldTrump is still on his way to a landslide victory!’
Others were equally skeptical about SNL’s true intentions for the scene, considering there are only 15 days left before the impending election.
“It’s getting annoying,” one onlooker snapped. “Kamala continues [F]os and looks terrible.
“The left-wing press is pushing the press to say she actually did a great job… when that failed, they predictably rolled out SNL to put out a fictionalized version of events that stupid people will believe for the laughs and the actors.’
Some dug into Harris’s gaffes on Fox News, which Baldwin and Rudolph seemed to ignore — labeling Baier as the culprit.
Saturday Night Live fans were up in arms about the sketch Sunday morning, calling it an attempt to portray Harris in a better light
One person labeled the parody “pathetic” and said the real comedy came from “Kamala’s terrible performance.”
“How she couldn’t answer a single question without ranting about Trump,” the netizen proclaimed.
“And how her people threw in the towel to end the interview.”
Another person comically claimed that Rudolph came across as “a better #KamalaHarris than Kamala Harris,” citing how the comedian “remembers her lines, doesn’t cackle, and is more articulate, smarter, funnier, and… saner.”
“Kamala looks angry and tired and has a severe case of #TDS in comparison,” the person said — using an acronym popularized by MAGA members that refers to “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Others criticized the show for bringing back Baldwin, a 17-time host who just weeks ago had his name cleared in the involuntary manslaughter case involving the late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The cold open included several instances of Baldwin’s Baier interrupting Rudolph, in an apparent attempt to portray the personality’s questions towards Harris (pictured) as combative.
Prosecutors in New Mexico had tried to prove that the actor’s behavior on the tragic set contributed to “safety compromises” that led to the incident, but were unable to do so after errors in evidence handling led a judge to dismissed the case without prejudice.
This meant that Baldwin, who broke down in tears after hearing the verdict last July, cannot be charged again despite being the one who fired the fatal shot.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, the gunsmith on the set of Rust, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and sentenced to 18 months in prison, a sentence Baldwin would also have faced if found guilty.
His return received extra attention because he was SNL’s most prolific host, having performed the role 17 times and delivering the famous intro line some 45 times.
That said, the actor has only appeared sparingly since 2017, with this spot only his second within that span.
Last November, he made another surprise appearance on set some two years after filming, still embroiled in multiple legal proceedings.
Others, meanwhile, criticized the show for bringing back Baldwin, a 17-time host who just weeks ago had his name cleared in an involuntary manslaughter case.
The case involved the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed after being hit by a bullet from a prop gun fired by Baldwin on the Rust film set in October 2021.
As Bair, he proceeded to issue a harsh critique of Rudolph’s version of the vice president, echoing some recent criticisms of the interview.
The skit also mocked a moment that Baier would later admit was a mistake — when he segued into the wrong snippet of a Donald Trump quote.
This allowed ‘SNL’ to bring in several mini-skits, such as Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden and eventually Donald Trump, before returning to Baldwin and Rudolph.
The pair went on to introduce the episode with the famous catchphrase ‘Live from New York’, after which Baldwin did not appear again
As was the case last year, he has did not comment on the recently concluded lawsuit after facing criticism in the past for his recent over-the-top portrayals of Trump.
Baldwin initially claimed he did not pull the trigger on the gun that led to his staffer’s death. The case was dismissed due to misuse of evidence
He opted to forego the character for this outing, with the role played by James Austin Johnson, who wanted to poke fun at a recent town hall by the former president that became an impromptu music festival on Monday when two attendees fell ill.
“Let’s not ask any more questions,” Trump said at the event after the medical emergencies, apparently out of respect.
Instead, he said, “Let’s just listen to music,” paving the way for hits like “YMCA” and “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” which lasted about half an hour.
“He can dance all he wants to YMCA or any song he doesn’t realize is a gay anthem,” Rudolph, in turn, joked as Harris talked about the now widely seen skit.
“This election is about contrast,” she continued, without drawing attention to the candidate’s now signature trip-ups and word salads.
‘At my meetings there are Beyoncé and Joy and toilets. At his meetings he does not pay for the buses and hundreds of elderly people have to walk ten kilometers through the desert back to their car.’
The later jab appeared to reference reports after the Pennsylvania event that Trump supporters were left in sweltering conditions after a rally in Coachella, California.
“There used to be 20 buses when we were brought here, but now there are only three buses,” rallygoer Wesley Johnson said in a video shared on social media at the time.
‘It’s chaos, absolute chaos. We’re all stranded here.’
Harris, meanwhile, is currently trailing Trump in some swing state polls. Election day is in fifteen days.
Polls show a razor-thin race both nationally and in Georgia. The Real Clear Politics average has Donald Trump up just over one point in Georgia.