US Election 2024: Kamala Harris to appear on Saturday Night Live in final days of campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris made a surprise trip to New York on Saturday to appear on “Saturday Night Live,” just three days ahead of her elections confrontation with Republican Donald Trump.

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While Harris’ campaign would not comment officially, reporters accompanying her were taken to the headquarters of NBC, the network that airs the popular comedy show. Two sources confirmed her participation. The episode will air at 11:30 pm ET (0330 GMT), giving Harris a high-profile platform to connect with voters in the final stretch of the campaign. Reuters reported.

The “Saturday Night Live” appearance will provide an unexpected boost ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.

The long-running program “Saturday Night Live” previously hosted both Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain in 2008, as well as Donald Trump in 2004, long before his political career began.

Earlier on Saturday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s planes were spotted together on the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina. The close meeting underscored the candidates’ focus on a select few states where the outcome of Tuesday’s US presidential election will be determined.

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It was the fourth day in a row that both candidates campaigned in North Carolina. Only seven states, including North Carolina, are considered truly competitive. Interestingly, a recent Des Moines Register poll released Saturday showed Harris with a surprise lead in Iowa, a state Trump won convincingly in the last two elections. This shift in voter sentiment could prove decisive as the election approaches.

Harris campaigned in Charlotte, North Carolina, with rock star Bon Jovi, while Trump held a rally in suburban Gastonia. It is unknown whether he was on the plane when Harris arrived.

Trump and Harris stuck to familiar themes in their speeches.

Trump said he would deport millions of immigrants if elected and warned that if Harris wins, “every city in America will be turned into a squalid and dangerous refugee camp.”

While campaigning in Atlanta, Harris said Trump would abuse his power if he returned to the White House.

“This is a person who is becoming increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed by resentment, and this is a person who seeks unlimited power,” she said.

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More than 72 million Americans have already voted, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, slower than 2020’s record pace of early voting during COVID-19 but still indicating high levels of voter enthusiasm. Reuters reported.

In North Carolina, western counties hit by Hurricane Helen voted at about the same rate as the rest of the state, according to Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.

Trump criticized the federal government’s response to the disaster and repeated his false claim that aid was diverted from the state to help immigrants entering the country.

(According to Reuters)