Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley delivers remarks at her primary night rally at the Grappone Conference Center on January 23, 2024 in Concord, New Hampshire.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley made a surprise — and funny — appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” where she asked a cast member playing her opponent Donald Trump a series of zingers in the cold open.
A beaming Haley also delivered the NBC show’s signature line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” at the end of the skit after the show’s guest host, Ayo Edeberi, delivered a sharp joke that referenced Haley’s famously flubbed answer when she was recently asked about the cause of the Civil War.
The live audience let out a whoop when Haley stood up on stage and began asking “Trump,” played by James Austin Johnson, questions at a faux CNN town hall in South Carolina after other people in the audience had their turn.
When “Trump” told Haley he was going to beat her in her home state of South Carolina in its upcoming primary, the former United Nations ambassador shot back, “And did you win your home state in the last election?”
“Trump” replied, “I won Staten Island!”
“And the parts of Long Island where they get into fist fights,” said Trump, who lost his home state of New York in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Haley also cracked that “Trump” had spent $50 million in legal fees on his various criminal and civil cases.
“Do you need to borrow money?” she asked.
But then it was Haley’s turn to be the target of a pointed jibe when Edeberi stood up and asked her a question.
I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War, um, ansd do you think it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with a ‘lavery?’ ” Edeberi asked.
Haley replied, “Yep, I probably should have said that the first time.”
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