‘I wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes’: Kamala speaks to herself in this SNL sketch

Whatever the results of the upcoming 2024 presidential election may be, Kamala Harris has already lived up to her nickname as the “meme candidate.”

At Saturday Night Live, Maya Rudolph said, “I wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes” while impersonating Vice President Harris. Maya turned to the side, and the camera panned not to another mimic but to Kamala Harris herself. Initially, many reacted positively to Maya’s first copycat portrayal of Harris. After this little sketch, though, Maya deserves more praise—her mannerisms and expressions were identical to Harris’. Harris laughed and told Maya through a mirror, “It’s nice to see you, Kamala. I’m just here to remind you that you got this.”

Essentially, Harris was giving a pep talk to herself—a much-needed one given this divisive presidential campaign period. Harris joked on SNL to Maya after seeing her laugh, “I don’t really laugh like that, do I?” Maya and Harris proceeded to joke about finishing each other’s sentences and being single-minded about each issue. One thing’s for sure: both of them “believe in the promise of America.”

Voting for herself

By the end, Rudolph endorsed Harris, saying that she’d “vote for us.” Harris jokingly asked Maya if she was a registered voter in Pennsylvania—a key battleground state. Unfortunately, Maya’s not voting in Pennsylvania, but she’s at least voting for “herself” in the coming election. Does it count as a felony if Harris votes for herself twice as different people? The state will just have to make exemptions for cases of clones.

Maya Rudolph played Kamala Harris before in another SNL sketch earlier in October. While many praised her ability to capture Kamala Harris’ accent and mannerisms, seeing her side-by-side with the real Harris proves that she deserved much more applause for her performance. In addition to Kamala Harris’ appearance in SNL, Maya and Harris also filmed a TikTok video together that claims that they’re “not the same person.” It’s a difficult claim to believe when Maya has perfected her impersonation down to Harris’ viral laughter.

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Vanessa Esguerra

Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.

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