Donald Trump Election Spot Airs During NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football,’ NASCAR Coverage in Response to Kamala Harris’ ‘SNL’ Appearance
UPDATED: Republican candidate Donald Trump was seen in an election spot that aired at the end of NBC’s NASCAR Xfinity 500 race coverage and its NFL “Sunday Night Football” telecast Sunday, an equal time make-good after his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris made a surprise cameo the night before on “Saturday Night Live.”
NBC reached out on Sunday to give the Trump campaign the opportunity to satisfy the FCC’s equal time requirement after the Harris “SNL” appearance. NBC declined to comment on specifics. But NBC stations filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission on Sunday noting that Harris “appeared without charge on NBC’s Saturday Night Live (‘SNL’) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024.”
More from Variety
Lady Gaga to Stump for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania on Election Eve
'Weekend Update' Mocks Trump's X-Rated Microphone Motion, 'Island of Garbage' Backlash
The pre-recorded 60-second Trump spot aired around 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, toward the end of NBC Sports’ live coverage of the race held in Martinsville, Va. The same ad aired on NBC stations at the tail end of the “SNF” Colts-Vikings game. Trump filmed the direct-to-camera video after his rally Sunday in Pennsylvania.
The spot was billed as “A Special Message From President Donald J. Trump.” Standing in front of a bank of American flags, wearing his signature fire-engine red Make America Great Again baseball cap, Trump addressed “sports fans.” He urged viewers to get out the vote and he took square aim at Harris: “We’ve got to save our country, and it needs saving. It’s in very bad shape,” Trump said. “Kamala and her friends broke it. I’ll fix it.”
PREVIOUSLY: Kamala Harris’ surprise appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 2 was “a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule,” Republican commissioner Brendan Carr claimed in a social media post.
Harris appeared in the “SNL” cold-open sketch as herself, interacting on stage with Maya Rudolph, who has portrayed the Democratic VP and presidential candidate on the show. In the skit, Harris poked fun at Donald Trump and said the election represents an opportunity to “end the drama-la.”
The FCC’s rules on political programming “seek to ensure that no legally qualified candidate for office is unfairly given less access to the airwaves — outside of bona fide news exemptions — than their opponent,” according to the agency. “Equal opportunities generally means providing comparable time and placement to opposing candidates” but “does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with programs identical to the initiating candidate.”
In a post on X on Saturday evening before Harris’ “SNL” appearance, Carr, who is a Trump appointee, wrote, “The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct — a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns.”
The FCC’s rule requires a broadcaster, in the event of an appearance by a “legally qualified candidate,” to “entertain requests for Equal Opportunities by opposing legally qualified candidates for the same office. However, the station is not required to seek out opposing legally qualified candidates and offer them Equal Opportunities.”
According to a source, “Saturday Night Live” had not extended an offer to Trump’s campaign for him to appear on the show.
In a statement Sunday, an FCC spokesperson said, “The FCC has not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties.” Reps for NBC and the Trump campaign declined to comment. The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Trump has not appeared on “Saturday Night Live” this season, which is celebrating its 50th season. He has hosted the show twice, once in 2004 and once when he was a presidential candidate in 2015.
After Trump hosted “SNL” on Nov. 7, 2015, NBC reached an agreement with several contenders vying for the Republican presidential nomination granting them equal time on certain local stations.
In the setup for Harris’s “SNL” cameo, Rudolph said, “This is it: The last campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Gosh, I just wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes, you know? A Black South Asian woman running for president… preferably from the Bay Area?” The audience then applauded and cheered as Harris was revealed on the other side of the mirror, telling Rudolph, “You and me both, sister.”
“Now Kamala: Take my palm-ala,” Rudolph said. “The American people want to stop the chaos.”
“And end the drama-la,” Harris responded. “With a cool new stepmom-ala. Kick back in our pajama-las, and watch a rom-com-ala,” Rudolph continued. “Like ‘Legally Blonde’-ala!” Harris said. “And start decorating for Christmas — fa-la-la-la-la,” Rudolph said.
At the end of the sketch, Rudolph said, “I’m gonna vote for us!” whereupon Harris queried: “Any chance you are registered in Pennsylvania?”
“SNL” also posted a behind-the-scenes clip featuring Harris and Rudolph:
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
