New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani allegedly wants to go on Saturday Night Live. Rumors swirled last year that he pitched himself for a segment ahead of the mayor’s race. Now rumors are swirling again that he’s not straight up asking to go on but is letting other people put out the word that he’s down to make an appearance if longtime showrunner Lorne Michaels wants it. During another time in the show’s history, a cameo would almost feel inevitable, but at this moment in time, I’m not so sure. Let’s talk this out.
Saturday Night Live has always and almost certainly will always cover politics. It’s been a core part of the show’s identity since Chevy Chase mocked then President Ford’s clumsiness with exaggerated pratfalls during the show’s first season. How frequently and with what tone it covers politics, however, has ebbed and flowed quite a bit over the last five decades. The number of political cameos has also waffled to various extremes. In fact, there hasn’t been any political cameos on the show since Kamala Harris briefly showed up prior to the 2024 election.
That shouldn’t be terribly surprising to anyone who watches the show on a weekly basis. We still get a political sketch almost every single episode and some scattered jokes on Weekend Update, but it’s nothing like things were in the lead-up to President Trump’s first win in 2016 or during his first tenure inside The White House. At that point in time, it felt like SNL was built around politics. Alec Baldwin’s snarling President Trump impression that almost felt like a caricature was a really buzzy topic of conversation, and there were some moments where many felt the show elevated political advocacy over humor.
In more recent years, it’s felt like there has been a concerted effort to pull back, not only from the ideological lean but also from the relentless presence of politics. James Austin Johnson’s President Trump impression still has bite to it, but it also showcases more of the President’s humor and goofiness. It feels a bit less serious, and there’s even the occasional episode that doesn’t reference politics at all, at least outside of Weekend Update. It’s all gone back to something the show does, not the support beam that holds the show up.
There’s also the issue of Equal Time. There has been a lot more talk in recent years about talks shows (see The View) and even comedy shows needing to provide equal time to candidates from opposing political parties, and when Kamala Harris made her appearance on SNL, NBC wound up giving President Trump two minutes of airtime at a later date to even the score. That makes any political appearances more complicated these days versus what they may have been decades ago.
That brings us to Mayor Mamdani. He’s, without question, the most famous Mayor in The United States, and there’s a long history of SNL bringing on NYC mayors. Rudy Giuliani hosted once and made four additional cameos in the late 90s and 2000s and is still being impersonated. Ed Koch also hosted twice and made two cameos in the late 70s and 80s. Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg and Mamdani himself have also been impersonated on the show at various points, but that’s a far cry from actually taking the stage at Studio 8H. So, will Mamdani ever get his chance?
My guess is probably, though that’s far from a guarantee. SNL is no longer at the point where it’s just putting on politicians for the sake of putting on politicians, but history says the show will waffle back at some point and get a bit more outwardly political. Putting famous faces on is also always a great way to earn some easy press, and Mamdani is such a huge name, both in New York City and in the larger political space, that he would earn some press.
Page Six, as an example, is running an exclusive right now about an alleged whisper campaign that involves other people putting in a good word for him. I think some element of that is probably happening. My guess is Mamdani would love to appear on SNL. He released a YouTube video of himself talking to Rami Youssef, who impersonated him on the show, and was clearly delighted by the whole thing. He’d almost certainly do it if he was asked.
So, yes, given all the press it would generate, the fact that he’d clearly say yes and the likelihood that he may be mayor for some time, I think it’s more likely than not we’ll get Mamdani on the show at some point. NBC will need to jump through some hoops, depending on when it happens, because of the Equal Time Rule, but I’m sure they can make that happen. I wouldn’t risk large amounts of money, but if I were him, I’d like my chances.
