Nikki Haley makes surprise appearance on SNL, mocking Donald Trump and Joe Biden

February 04, 2024 / 1:20 am

caption: Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Columbia, S.C.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has made a cameo appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" comedy show, making jibes at Donald Trump over his age and mental competency.

The former South Carolina governor has been campaigning ahead of her home state's Republican primary later this month, in an effort to close the gap in polling between herself and former President Trump.

Haley appeared in a comedy sketch set at a fake "CNN Town Hall", where "Trump," played by cast member James Austin Johnson, was being asked questions by an audience.

Making an unannounced appearance, Haley was intruduced half way through the sketch as "someone who describes herself as a concerned South Carolina voter". Haley then asked: "My question is, why won't you debate Nikki Haley?".

The fake "Trump" then replied, "Oh, my god, it's her! The woman who was in charge of security on Jan. 6... Nancy Pelosi!", with a nod to Trump's recent seeming confusion over Pelosi and Haley.

"Are you doing OK, Donald? You might need a mental competency test," Haley said. Haley has pitched herself as a younger, more capable alternative to both former President Donald Trump and the Democratic frontrunner, President Joe Biden.

"Trump" told Haley that he "aced" the competency test and said, "They told me I'm 100% mental, and I'm competent because I'm a man."

He added that women "should never run our economy. Women are terrible with money... in fact, a woman I know recently asked me for $83 million." A New York civil jury recently awarded writer E. Jean Carroll $83 million in damagaes from Trump, ruling that the ex-President had defamed Carroll after she alleged he had raped her.

A later joke about the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense led to "Trump" saying "I see dead people". Haley replied: "Yeah, that's what voters will say if they see you and Joe [Biden] on the ballot."

Haley was also the subject of a barb by guest host Ayo Edebiri, who made fun of the former South Carolina Governor for previously avoiding saying that the Civil War was caused by slavery.

"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?', comic actor Edebiri asked. Haley replied, "Yep, I probably should have said that the first time".

In December at a New Hampshire town hall, Haley was asked what she thought caused the Civil War. She avoided saying "slavery", instead answering that it was about "the freedoms of what people could and couldn't do."

Haley also delivered the NBC show's signature line, "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" at the end of the skit.

"Had a blast tonight on SNL," Haley tweeted after her appearance.

"Know it was past Donald's bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m."