Saturday Night Live took aim at Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz following his recent debate with Republican JD Vance.
The show’s cold open featured a skit where actors impersonating Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and President Joe Biden reacted to the debate from their living room.
Walz received backlash for stumbling over his words while discussing school shootings and appearing unprepared, with some commentators saying he looked “like a deer in the headlights.”
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In the skit, Jim Gaffigan, playing Walz, amusingly sidestepped a question about the Middle East crisis, saying, “I don’t know the answer, so I’ll just repeat ‘fundamental’ a lot because debates are 30 percent ‘fun’ and 70 percent ‘demental.’ How am I doing?”
When asked about abortion rights, Gaffigan’s Walz began confidently, highlighting Minnesota’s progressive policies, but ended up rambling about the state’s low sex drive. “In Minnesota, we restored a woman’s right to choose because we trust women,” he stated. “And we have the lowest teen pregnancy rates since everyone’s bundled up and indulging in lake fish. Not a very passionate place!”
SNL shared a clip of the sketch on X (formerly Twitter), which racked up 182,000 views by Sunday.
Maya Rudolph’s Harris dramatically smashed her wineglass when Gaffigan’s Walz mentioned being “friends with school shooters,” while Andy Samberg’s Emhoff lamented that Walz was tarnishing the reputation of “goofy white guys.”
“As a goofy white guy, this really sets us back,” remarked Samberg’s Emhoff. “I’m in a group chat with Josh Gad and Jason Kelsey, and the vibe is tense.”
Even Dana Carvey’s Biden joined in the critique. Watching alongside Harris and Emhoff, he exclaimed, “Walz, what’s going on? Get your facts straight! You’ve got to hit him with ‘no joke,’ ‘here’s the deal,’ and ‘let me be clear.’ And by the way, don’t forget to mention our achievements!”
This comedic take on Walz comes as SNL continues its tradition of lampooning political figures, particularly in the wake of ongoing tensions with former President Trump over past skits featuring Alec Baldwin.