Are pigs flying right now? Did Saturday Night Live finally produce something with a modicum of comedic value this decade? Surprisingly enough, it did, and the centerpiece was Kamala Harris’ beleaguered running mate, Tim Walz.
The Minnesota governor turned in a less-than-stellar debate performance against JD Vance on Tuesday, with a full-on implosion happening about halfway through. If you missed it, Walz was asked about his false claim of being present during the Tiananmen Square massacre. After fumbling over his words multiple times, he froze up, which you never want to do at a debate. Vance was already cooking him, but at that moment, it was officially over.
SEE: JD Vance Absolutely Cooks Tim Walz, and Then Kamala’s Running Mate Completely Implodes
That debate formed the centerpiece of SNL’s skit, with a sudden appearance from “Joe Biden” also delivering laughs.
It’s been a while, but SNL finally did something funny in roasting Walz (and Biden).
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 6, 2024
O’DONNELL: We now turn to the gotcha portion of the debate. Senator Vance, you called Donald Trump America’s Hitler. Do you regret that?
VANCE: Well, the context matters. I meant that as a compliment.
WALZ: Wow, this guy’s good, he’s got an answer for everything
VANCE: Thank you, that’s quite kind
WALZ: Hey, you’re welcome
O’DONNELL: Okay, not sure why you two are connecting, but let’s move on. Governor Walz, you claimed you were in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre while you were home in Minnesota. Can you explain that?
WALZ: So I think what happened is, I went to Epcot. You can go around the whole world, and I had a couple in the Germany section, and I thought I went to China. Anyway, I’m a knucklehead, but I’m sure this guy has some things, you know, back out of as well.
VANCE: He’s right about that…
VANCE AND WALZ: That’s an area where we have a lot of common ground.
(Cuts to horrified Kamala Harris sitting on the couch)
Playing up the way Vance and Walz “agreed” so much during the debate is legitimately funny. Props to the writers for pushing that instead of just taking lame shots at Vance during the whole skit that wouldn’t have landed. When it gets to the portion with Harris, she’s shown as reeling from Walz’s performance. That’s when Biden shows up.
HARRIS: Why are they friends? Why are they vibing?
EMHOFF: Hey, Mamala, it’s Joe Biden.
HARRIS: I can’t talk right now, tell him I’m not here.
EMHOFF: No, no, he’s in the room.
BIDEN: You’re not here, I’ll come back later (slurring)
HARRIS: No, no, no, Joe, come in, come in, have a seat. It’s nice and dry.
BIDEN: (mumbling inaudibly) Oh, you’ve been watching this guy? Come on Walz, what’s wrong with this guy? Get your facts straight, Jack. You’ve got to hit ’em with, no joke, here’s the deal. Let me be clear. Anyway. Guess what and by the way. You should be talking about all the great things we’ve done. Gas prices down! Border crossings down! Emmys for The Bears, down! Everybody get down (pause) tonight. Anyway.
The rest of the skit is worth a watch. It’s almost a throwback to a time when SNL and the late shows would make fun of everyone in some shape or form (I said “almost,” which I’ll get to in a moment). That era mainly ended with the election of Barack Obama, who was simply deemed incapable of being mocked. That was, of course, nonsense, but the partisan wants of the networks were obviously made a priority over producing good content.
With that said, I’ll offer one critique. Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris is just not good. For one, her impression stinks, but more importantly, she always plays the vice president as this too-cool-for-school, above-it-all character having to deal with the idiocy of others. I mean, come on. That is not Kamala Harris, and she has given a wealth of mock-worthy material during the last two months alone. If SNL can’t turn the vice president’s cackling into part of a skit, then what they are even doing?
SNL just doesn’t want to go there, though, and we all know why. Still, I’ll give them some credit for going after Walz and Biden. I suppose it’s a start.
