Harris opens 'Saturday Night Live,' urges US to 'keep Calm-ala' before election
Harris' appearance on comedy show adds late surprise to race
Trump, Harris cross paths at North Carolina airport
72 million Americans have already voted
Adds Harris quote in paragraph 7
By Nandita Bose and James Oliphant
NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris appeared on the "Saturday Night Live" TV comedy show on Saturday, adding a surprise jolt to the U.S. presidential election just three days before her showdown with Republican Donald Trump.
Harris portrayed herself, appearing in a mirror opposite the actor who plays her on the show, Maya Rudolph, who was nervously preparing for a campaign speech. Dressed identically in a black suit and pearls, the two traded variations on Harris' first name, saying Americans want to "end the drama-la" in politics "with a cool new stepmom-ala."
"Keep Calm-ala and carry on-ala," they said in unison.
"I don't really laugh like that, do I?" Harris asked, after Rudolph imitated her distinctive chortle.
"A little bit," Rudolph responded.
Harris was making her first appearance on the show, which has had other presidential candidates over its decades-long run.
“It was fun,” she told reporters on the tarmac before flying to Detroit in the battleground state of Michigan.
Trump appeared on SNL during his first presidential bid in 2015, where he poked fun at his tendency to exaggerate and steer clear of policy specifics. He also appeared in 2004. A Trump aide said on Saturday he did not know whether he had been invited to appear this year.
Earlier on Saturday, Harris' and Trump's planes shared the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the two candidates held dueling events in the southern state, one of a handful that will determine the outcome of Tuesday's election. It was the fourth day in a row that the candidates campaigned in the same state.
Only seven states are seen as truly competitive, but a poll released on Saturday showed Harris holding a surprise lead in Iowa, a state Trump won easily in the last two elections.
'BEAUTIFUL WHITE SKIN'
Trump and Harris stuck to familiar themes at their appearances.
Trump said he would deport millions of immigrants if elected and warned that if Harris wins, "Every town in America would be turned into a squalid, dangerous refugee camp."
Campaigning in Atlanta, Harris said Trump would abuse his power if he returns to the White House.
“This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and the man is out for unchecked power," she said.
More than 75 million Americans have already cast ballots, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida, in a sign of voter enthusiasm.
In North Carolina, the western counties that were devastated by Hurricane Helene appeared to be voting at roughly the same rate as the rest of the state, according to Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.
At a rally in Salem, Virginia, Trump said he ran for office to rescue the economy from "obliteration" even though it would have been easier to relax at one of his oceanfront resorts.
"I didn't need to be here today," he said. "I could have been standing on that beach, my beautiful white skin getting nice and being smacked, being smacked in the face by a wave loaded up with salt water."
Trump was joined on stage by women from a local college swim team who have objected to competing against transgender athletes. Some of Trump's TV ads have sought to capitalize on transgender controversies.
Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Ismail Shakil; Writing by Andy Sullivan and Costas Pitas; Editing by Heather Timmons, Daniel Wallis, Cynthia Osterman, Leslie Adler and William Mallard
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