Saturday Night Live: Nikki Haley Finally Gets It Right About the Cause of American Civil War. Some Say That’s a Joke
- While some critics thought she nailed her surprise cameo, many others slammed the sketch comedy show for giving a platform to “a slavery denier,” and an “anti-Trump liberal.”
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley took pot shots at President Biden and former President Trump during a surprise appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Haley was seen in the audience at a mock CNN town hall in South Carolina.
“Are you doing okay, Donald,” she asked SNL cast member James Austin Johnson who plays the former president on the live sketch comedy variety show. When she suggests that Trump might need a mental competency test, he tells her that he already took one and “aced it. “They told me I’m 100% mental, and I’m competent because I’m a man.” He adds that “women should never run our economy. Women are terrible with money… in fact, a woman I know recently asked me for $83 million.”
In a repartee, Haley referencing Trump’s $50 million legal fees he reportedly paid last year, asks if he needed to borrow some money.
When pretend-Trump concludes with “I see dead people,” Haley kills responding: “That’s what voters will say if they see you and Joe on the ballot.”
The Jan. 3 night appearance comes after the former South Carolina governor released the “Grumpy Old Men” ad campaign, targeting the 81-year-old Biden and Trump, 77. She has consistently pitched herself as a “new generational leader” for her party and called for mental competency tests for candidates who are 75 or older.
But Trump wasn’t the only one roasted in the SNL segment. Haley herself was a target. “Bear” actress Ayo Edebiri, the show’s host, referencing Haley’s now infamous goof up in a New Hampshire town hall, again asked her what she thought was the main cause of the Civil War. “Do you think it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with ‘lavery’?” Haley with a gamely smile responded that she “probably should have said that the first time.”
The Republican challenger then went on to announce one of the most recognized taglines on television — “And live from New York, It’s Saturday Night.”
Although Trump has not weighed in on Haley’s surprise appearance, he did post a video just after midnight on Truth Social. In that post, he called ‘Tricky Nikki,’ as he juxtaposed “her contradictory position on raising the gasoline tax and retiring age among other issues,” according to The Palm Beach Post.
Meanwhile, her unannounced appearance wasn’t appreciated by many, and some of the critics, mainly supporters of Trump, slammed the show for having “a long track record of comedy-washing hateful conservatives.”
“CRINGE: SNL brought on Nikki Haley to bash Donald Trump,” one user wrote on X. “Yeah — she’s totally a Republican and not just another Anti-Trump liberal.”
One user called out SNL “giving a cameo platform to racist slavery denier,” who “just wasn’t funny.”
For a user named “Just a Thought,” having Haley on the show wasn’t surprising. “Politicians and Hollywood share the same owners and work to the same ends: to entertain, distract, influence, and maintain the status quo.”