'SNL' Skit Heavily Backfires on Kamala Harris, FCC Gets Involved - Inside the Magic

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received airtime on NBC following Vice President Kamala Harris’s brief appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

According to FCC rules, candidates are entitled to equal broadcast time if their opponents appear on entertainment programs, triggering NBC to air a political ad featuring Trump.

Harris’s appearance on SNL—lasting approximately 90 seconds—prompted NBC to air Trump’s ad during its Sunday NASCAR and NFL broadcasts, notably during coverage of the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts game.

Trump’s ad, where he urged Americans to vote and warned of economic downturn under a Harris presidency, appeared post-race and featured him in his signature “Make America Great Again” hat.

You can watch the full appearance below:

The Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule mandates that broadcasters provide candidates comparable airtime when their opponent appears outside of bona fide news programming.

A source informed The Hollywood Reporter that the Trump ad was shown to satisfy these regulations, explaining that “equal time” does not require identical programming but aims to offer similar access for all qualifying candidates.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a senior Republican official, expressed discontent with NBC’s handling of the Equal Time rule, calling Harris’s appearance a “clear evasion” of FCC policy.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Carr argued, “The purpose of the rule is to prevent licensed broadcasters from showing favoritism toward a candidate, especially so close to an election.” He criticized NBC’s actions, citing the FCC’s seven-day requirement for candidates to request equal time, providing them space to prepare relevant content.

NBC informed the FCC of Harris’s participation, emphasizing that her appearance was “without charge.” This decision reflects SNL’s policy not to host political candidates on the show, a rule producer Lorne Michaels previously stated publicly.

In a Hollywood Reporter interview last September, Michaels explained the difficulty of featuring presidential candidates due to equal-time rules: “You can’t have the main candidates without extending the opportunity to all candidates, even those on the ballot in just a few states.”

As Election Day approaches, the FCC’s role in maintaining equitable media exposure for candidates remains a focal point amidst increasing political scrutiny.