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SNL makes fun of Melania Trump's absence from the campaign in the parody “Family Feud.”

SNL makes fun of Melania Trump's absence from the campaign in the parody “Family Feud.”

Saturday Night Live's cold open poked fun at the presidential candidates' well-known mannerisms and personality traits, including Melania Trump's notable absence from her husband's campaign.

In a parody of Family Feud, host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) introduced “Team Harris” led by Vice President Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), including an excited Doug Emoff (Andy Samberg), a goofy Governor Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan ) and a confused President Joe Biden (Dana Carvey).

But “Team Trump” appeared to be one player behind.

After introducing Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) as Harvey, Thompson gave the floor to Melania – the only problem was that there was no Melania.

“So strange, Melania was standing right next to me three years ago,” Johnson said, as Trump put it.

The joke, which was well received by audiences, poked fun at Melania's lack of performance during Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Over the past year, the former first lady has only attended a handful of rallies or events — and is often not the center of attention.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck and neck
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck and neck (Saturday Night Live)

During the Republican National Convention, Melania appeared on stage with her husband and family but refused to speak, breaking a longstanding tradition.

The former first lady has appeared on television shows for interviews more recently, but only to promote her new memoir. Melania.

But it seems not even a Melania impersonator could find time in their schedule to appear in the SNL sketch.

The rest of the cold open leaned heavily on the media's portrayal of the contestants as the two teams battled for glory.

Harris (Rudolph) and Trump (Johnson) initially went head-to-head to see who could choose an item that would be found in the glove compartment of their car. Ultimately, Harris won with her suggestion of a “Glock” — a reference to the vice president’s recent admission that she owns a firearm.

Emhoff (Samberg) found his wife's suggestion so impressive that he also suggested a gun, which ended up being the first answer on the board with “a second gun.”

Enthusiastically, Walz (Gaffigan) offered several options, such as napkins from Runza or Tums when he eats something “spicy” like “tomato.” But none of his “white nonsense” was an answer on the board.

A confused Biden (Carvey) asked “Conan” to buy a vowel.

Although “Team Trump” lost a player without Melania, it had minimal impact as JD Vance (Bowen Yang) and Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) were “required not to speak.” Instead, when it came time for Trump (Johnson) to give an answer, he “weaved” and completely changed the subject to complain about immigration.

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