“Saturday Night Live” packed in every political face it could on Saturday’s show as the cold open featured a game of “Family Feud” with Team Harris vs. Team Trump.
The game show setup allowed for Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan’s Tim Walz, Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden, James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump, Bowen Yang’s JD Vance and Mikey Day’s Donald Trump Jr. to all appear in the same sketch, and worked well enough.
The game was, of course, hosted by Kenan Thompson’s Steve Harvey, who kicked off the proceedings by introducing himself and saying he’s “spent the last 20 years hosting every show on TV.”
“I love to see a man getting paid millions of dollars for his Black job,” Rudolph’s Harris responded. She then continued by addressing Harris’ media blitz from the week prior: “I went on Howard Stern to reach the horny cab drivers, I went on ‘The View’ for horny moms and I also went on the podcast ‘Call Her Daddy’ because I have a message for young women: you need to go to the ballot box if you want the government out your ballot box.
In his introduction, Samberg’s spot-on Doug Emhoff introduced himself by saying, “‘Tis I, Doug. AKA Doug the Shrug. AKA if Mr. Belding from ‘Saved by the Bell’ had sex with a menorah.”
Gaffigan’s Walz addressed Thompson’s Harvey directly by saying, “I am such a huge fan of your standup, Cedric.” Harvey shot back: “Tim, when Black comedians talk about white people, they’re talking about you.”
Carvey’s Biden, meanwhile, played up the mental fitness factor by saying to Harvey, “Thank you, Regis.”
Johnson’s Trump was asked if he brought his wife Melania, to which he responded, “It’s so strange I could’ve sworn she was standing right beside me two years ago. But in her place I’ve brought another beloved member of the Trump family, and also Don Jr.”
As the game kicked off, Harris and Trump went face to face and were asked to name something you keep in your glove compartment. Rudolph answered by channeling Harris’ penchant for staying on message: “Steve, look, I was raised in a middle class family. My mother raised my sister and me. She worked hard and saved up. And she had a mother too.”
Harvey leaned in and said, “OK, did that mother have a glove compartment?” To which Harris finally answered the question, “A Glock, Steve. I have a big ol’ Glock.”
The sketch also gave Johnson an opportunity to shine as Trump as he’s been somewhat overshadowed by the cameos on the democratic side this season. “To answer this, I’m gonna do one of my signature weaves,” he said before moving into a meandering answer.
After he stopped talking, Harvey looked at the board and said, “Show me dementia!”