The Way This 'SNL' Comedian Learned Kamala Harris Was Biden's VP Pick Is Delightful

AP featured image — FILE – This March 7, 2013 file photo shows actress Maya Rudolph performing at “The Music of Prince” tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. NBC says it’s weighing bringing back Maya Rudolph’s variety show. In May, the actress-comedian starred in “The Maya Rudolph Show,” a special that combined comedy and music. NBC executives told a TV critics’ meeting Sunday, July 13, 2014, that they’re in discussions with the actress-comedian about what the program would look like if it returned. They are looking for a format that would put Rudolph on the air on a regular or occasional basis. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Now it’s confirmed who’ll — at least in a virtual sense — be standing next to presumptive Democrat presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden at the podium during the DNC convention later this month in Milwaukee, WI, as RedState writers will cover in full throughout the next days and weeks. It’s Kamala Harris, after all.

Actress, comedian, and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Maya Rudolph spent a good stretch of the 2020 Democratic primary playing Sen. Harris, and she even managed to hang on to the role for one, last appearance after Harris dropped — because her portrayal of the California Democrat is just that good.

Here’s a clip of that, in which “Kamala Harris” crashes the late December debate in Los Angeles, while managing to interrupt “Andrew Yang” getting worked up about the need for more “diversity” in the party’s slate of primary candidates:

[Note: NSFW (video contains adult language)]

Rudolph, who left the long-running, NBC comedy program as a featured cast member in 2007, is currently nominated for an Emmy award for her guest role playing Harris, so it may not surprise many people that some on social media learned about Biden’s pick for his running mate in a rather roundabout way:

I saw four tweets about maya rudolph before I saw a single one about kamala harris herself

— emily (@emilychuckkukan) August 11, 2020

And the comedian and actress learned about the choice in an unusual way, too… she was on a live Zoom call, as part of an Entertainment Weekly panel, when someone spilled the big news. And her reaction was just as delightful as her impersonation of Harris (click the link below the tweet to see the video, via EW’s site):

When you just happen to have Maya Rudolph on Zoom when the Kamala Harris news breaks… https://t.co/pYVu8nVSqr

— Jessica Derschowitz (@jessicasara) August 11, 2020

EW:

Rudolph …express[ed] her shock and delight, especially the joy of being Emmy nominated for her work as Harris, saying, “I’m as surprised as you are, guys. That’s spicy.”

But the comedian hinted that it might be tricky right now, with the Wuhan coronavirus and all:

“I love going to the show. Any excuse I can get, I love. I just didn’t really anticipate traveling during a pandemic, but if there’s anyone that can work it out I’m sure Lorne [Michaels] has some sort of invisible helicopter that can get me there,” she joked.

She added:

“I don’t know that I’m ready to go right this minute, but it’s so nice to have this [Emmy] nomination be associated with the show because it’s my true love.”

Too cool for a very funny lady.

UPDATE [08/11/20, 7:58p.m. EDT]:

Watch: As a guest on “Ellen” with Alec Baldwin filling in as host in March 2020, Rudolph addressed the possibility of Harris becoming VP. She also got in a joke about Baldwin’s own “SNL” impersonation of POTUS: