A top official from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called out NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) on Sunday for allowing 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to make an appearance on the show just two days before Election Day.
In the “SNL” sketch, actress Maya Rudolph, who was playing the vice president, spoke with Harris, who was playing a mirror reflection of Rudolph’s caricature, about stopping the “chaos” and “dramala” in American politics (the latter is a running joke of the show making light of Harris’s name).
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr ripped SNL’s “biased and partisan conduct” for inviting the Democratic candidate to appear without apparently offering the same opportunity to 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, suggesting a violation of the FCC’s “equal time” rule.
This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.
The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.… https://t.co/LliZF0po9t
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
“This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule,” Carr wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.”
“Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns,” he continued.
Federal law requires that broadcasters provide comparable time and placement to all legally qualified candidates when the Equal Time rule is triggered.
With only days before the election, NBC appears to have structured this appearance in a way that evades these requirements.… pic.twitter.com/PjrgWCqsgy
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
There’s another complicating factor here given that NBC’s SNL initially said that no candidates would appear on SNL b/c of the federal Equal Time rule.
Since SNL made a secret 180 only 50 hours or so before election day, their decision runs into the seven-day rule component of…
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
Trump was not offered the same invitation to appear on “SNL” as Harris, Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reported. The Trump campaign is reportedly reviewing whether Harris’s appearance merits a formal FCC complaint.
Source familiar tells FOX Trump campaign lawyers are reviewing whether Harris’ appearance on SNL merits an FCC complaint for a violation of the equal time requirement. https://t.co/oDoklakIHK
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 3, 2024
Broadcasters must offer candidates seeking the same political office comparable time and placement, Section 315 of the Communications Act states. (RELATED: Trump Slaps CBS With $10 Billion Lawsuit Over ’60 Minutes’ Harris Edit)
Towards the end of the sketch, Rudolph said she plans to vote for Harris, who stood right beside her. Harris asked if Rudolph was registered to vote in Pennsylvania, one of three highly contested “blue wall” battleground states, to which the actress responded she was not. (RELATED: WATCH The Daily Caller’s “Cleaning Up Kamala” Documentary)
“SNL” cast member Colin Jost joked about the show’s poor relationship with Trump in a subsequent “Weekend Update” segment.
“Well, next week, the American people will decide if the next president will be Kamala Harris or if everyone at ‘SNL’ will get audited,” Jost said as an image of Trump appeared next to him on screen.
Initially, “SNL” would not entertain appearances in the 2024 election cycle from Trump or Harris, The Independent reported on Oct. 1.
“You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and equal time provisions,” “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter in September. “You can’t have the main candidates without having all the other candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates that are only on the ballot in, like, three states and that becomes really complicated.”
Last month, @nbcsnl EP Lorne Michaels told @THR – “You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions.” Adding: “You can’t have the main candidates without having all the candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates.” https://t.co/Y2Wc4BvQ38
— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) November 3, 2024
Critics of the sketch noted the mirror-image format Harris participated in was identical to a 2015 sketch featuring Trump on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon.
NBC aired a video message from Trump to viewers following a NASCAR playoff race and an NFL game Sunday after Carr raised his concerns, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
NBC has filed a notice with the FCC, disclosing that Kamala Harris appeared on SNL for under two minutes without charge.
Under federal law, if Donald Trump requests equal time, NBC would be required to provide it before the election. pic.twitter.com/aMvHJjpwC2
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 4, 2024
There are presently five FCC commissioners: three Democrats and two Republicans.