Republican presidential candidate and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) made a surprise cameo appearance during Saturday Night Live‘s cold open over the weekend, but instead of being a PR victory, it just proved the leftists that Haley is counting on for support hate her just as much as they hate Donald Trump.
During a town hall sketch, Haley asked James Austin Johnson, who was portraying former President Donald Trump, “My question is, why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?” to which Johnson replied, “Oh my God, it’s her! The woman who was in charge of security on January 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi!”
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“I see dead people.” That’s exactly what voters will think if this race is between Trump and Biden in the fall.
Had a blast tonight on SNL! Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m. pic.twitter.com/W43LlPOoi2
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 4, 2024
The cold open concluded with Haley referring to her New Hampshire town hall gaffes, one in which she declined to say “slavery” when asked what caused the Civil War.
“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’?” an actress playing a town hall audience member asked, to which Haley replied, “Yup, I probably should have said that the first time.”
The cameo was met with a slew of backlash, as viewers quickly took to social media to blast both SNL and Haley, with one X/Twitter user calling it a “cringeworthy appearance.”
“The fact that SNL had 3 Black actors up there helping make a jokey joke out of Nikki Haley’s entrenched racism is fucking INSANE,” another reacted. “I’m disgusted at all 3 of them for agreeing to do it.”
“Why did “Saturday Night Live” choose to platform Nikki Haley? Have they learned nothing?” the X/Twitter account for Rolling Stone said.
“Why is Nikki Haley on SNL for shits and giggles? Ain’t shit funny with that racist lady,” another declared.
“The real Nikki Haley just appeared on SNL in a joke about her slavery question response,” another commented.
“Tyrning SNL on to watch Ayo Edebiri host and being met with real life actual Nikki Haley is one of the grossest cons of all time,” another reacted.
“The humanization of Nikki Haley by SNL is so fucking weird & problematic cause why are people saying they’re ‘rooting for her’ now SHES A HORRIBLE PERSON,” another lamented.
“This was the most bizarre SNL opening in history – Nikki Haley cameo trying to recover from her Civil War comments WITH THE HELP OF AYO EDEBIRI???? I’m lost,” another echoed.
Other social media users expressed confusion over what both SNL and Haley thought they would gain from the sketch.
“Who is SNL’s audience at this point? Who did bringing Nikki Haley on appeal to?” one asked.
“Nikki Haley goes on SNL to bash Trump. Why does she think this will help her in a Republican primary?” another inquired.
“Is this supposed to make Nikki Haley more likeable? Really? Nikki, fire all your consultants who thought this was a good idea. You have hit rock bottom with the likes of Saturday Night Live,” another said.
Another surmised that the “SNL appearance can only mean Nikki Haley is officially a joke or a leftist plant.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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