Saturday Night Live was met with swift criticism following their episode last night. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, made a cameo during the cold opening of the hit comedy sketch series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The cold open sketch featured a town hall meeting in which Haley asks Donald Trump, as portrayed by James Austin Johnson (Tuca & Bertie, Praise Petey), some burning questions.
Haley asked, “Why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?” The Hollywood Reporter notes that the former president has declined to participate in presidential debates before the 2024 election.
Johnson, as Trump, then said, “Oh my God. It’s her, the woman who was in charge of security on Jan. 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi.”
“Are you doing OK, Donald?,” Haley said in response. “You might need a mental competency test.”
“You know what, I did,” Johnson as Trump stated. “I took the test and I aced it, OK. Perfect score. They said I’m 100 percent mental and, you know, I’m confident because I’m a man. That’s why a woman should never run our economy. Women are terrible with money.”
An appearance by Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms, The Bear), the episode’s host, was included towards the end of the sketch in which she asked Haley a question.
“I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War? And do you think it starts with an S and ends with a lavery?”, Edebiri asked via The Hollywood Reporter.
Haley then agreed in response by saying, “Yep, I probably should have said that the first time.”
The Hollywood Reporter notes the question dates back to a December 2023 New Hampshire town hall meeting in which a voter asked Haley what caused the war. Haley responded, “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”
Some were quick to jump on social media to criticize Haley’s answer for not acknowledging slavery. She then sat down with Good Morning New Hampshire for a radio interview to clarify her words by saying, “Of course, the Civil War was about slavery.”
Haley also stated, “What it means to us today is about freedom — that’s what that was all about. It was about individual freedom. It was about economic freedom. It was about individual rights.”
After Haley’s cameo on SNL last night, several individuals expressed their disapproval over giving Haley screentime but not other presidential candidates.
One post on X (formerly Twitter) reads: “Nikki Haley will only ever diss trump on comedy show, and WTF is slavery denier doing on SNL anyway? Disgraceful, @nbcsnl.” In contrast, another post reads, “Nikki Haley just appeared in the cold open for SNL. Saturday Night Live sure does have a long track record of comedy-washing hateful conservatives.” At the time of his campaign for the 2016 presidential election, Trump hosted SNL in 2015.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC does not wish to comment. However, sources have disclosed to The Hollywood Reporter that NBC will honor equal time obligations for other presidential candidates of all parties.
Edebiri hosted SNL for her first time last night alongside musical guest Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Maid in Manhattan).