Harris makes surprise SNL appearance as polls show Trump no longer leads in Iowa

Kamala Harris has edged ahead of Donald Trump in Iowa, a state where the former president was previously in the lead, according to new US election polling.
The results show Harris holding 47%, with Trump at 44%. According to pollsters Des Moines Register and Mediacom, the result falls within the margin of sampling error, and there is no clear leader.
The poll’s findings mark a shift from September, where 47% of likely voters backed Trump to 43% for Harris.
It comes as Harris made an appearance on American comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), as the presidential election race enters its final days.
Harris starred as the “mirror image” of herself alongside actress Maya Rudolph, who impersonated her. The pair wore identical outfits and urged supporters of the Democrat candidate to “keep Kamala and carry on-ala”.
“It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.”
The vice president was due to travel to Detroit, Michigan after campaigning in North Carolina before her team revealed she would be making an unscheduled stop in New York.
The final SNL show before Tuesday’s election opened with a parody of US news organisation CNN. It then cut to a sketch of a Donald Trump rally, with comedian Austin Johnson portraying the former president.
The performance referenced Trump’s recent controversial remarks about Republican and former representative Liz Cheney.
It then cut to a conversation between Rudolph as Harris, Dana Carvey portraying President Joe Biden, Jim Gaffigan as vice presidential pick Tim Walz, and Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff.
Rudolph stepped aside for a moment to reflect before her last campaign speech, seeing the real Harris as she looked into the mirror.
“I just wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes,” she said moments before the Democratic presidential nominee appeared.
“You know, a black South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area.”
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Many US politicians have appeared on the long-running variety show, including Harris’ Republican opponent Donald Trump, who hosted an episode in 2015.
Hillary Clinton featured on SNL alongside impersonator Amy Poehler during her 2008 Democratic primary campaign and unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign.
The first sitting president to appear on the show was Republican Gerald Ford, who made his debut in April 1976.
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