NBC's "Saturday Night Live" featured a surprise appearance by Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley. The former governor of South Carolina appeared on the show and went head to head against a fictitious Donald Trump.
The show gave Haley the chance to debate Donald Trump, played by actor James Austin Johnson, in a sketch that didn't take any time to go viral. She played a South Carolina voter who posed the following question to Johnson, who was playing the role of the former president: "Why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?" Donald Trump quickly responded without really answering the question: "Oh my God. It’s her, the woman who was in charge of security on Jan. 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi," he said.
The former governor of South Carolina, dissatisfied with the question, waited for Johnson to change his answer and decided to change her strategy. This time, he focused on a controversial issue during this campaign: the need for mental competence tests.
So, Haley asked Johnson, still playing the role of Donald Trump, the following: "Are you doing OK, Donald? You might need a mental competency test." Johnson, still playing the part of the former president, said: "You know what, I did. I took the test and I aced it, OK. Perfect score. They said I'm 100 percent mental and, you know, I’m confident because I’m a man."
Without finishing his answer, Johnson decided to introduce another gag and change the subject, focusing on the economy. The actor assured that women were not the most suitable to run the American economy: "Women should never run our economy. Women are terrible with money and should never run our country. In fact, a woman I know asked me for $83.3 million," said Johnson, still in his role as Donald Trump and referring to the trial that the former president against E. Jean Carroll. Haley continued by asking the following: "Do you need to borrow some money?" before ending this fictional debate between her and Donald Trump, played by James Austin Johnson.
The former governor of South Carolina did not take long to transfer the debate to real life. She posted the following message on X, in direct allusion to her rival in the Republican primaries:
“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
Ayo Edebiri vs. Nikki Haley
Her ordeal, however, was still not over. It was Nikki Haley's turn to be questioned. The next question came from "The Bear" actress, Ayo Edebiri. The actress turned to a topic that raised controversy: What caused the Civil War?
Last December, a voter asked the former South Carolina governor the same question at a town hall. The Hollywood Reporter detailed her response: "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do."
However, the voter expected another answer. Edebiri then asked: "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?" This time, Haley, more prepared, agreed with her: "Yep, I probably should have said that the first time," she said, ending the debate and her appearance on the well-known late-night program.
