Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s Aspiration for ‘Saturday Night Live’
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani still hopes to make an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” Initially, his team reached out to the iconic sketch show during the 2025 campaign, but SNL’s head, Lorne Michaels, declined the proposal.
Despite the initial setback, Mamdani’s supporters are persisting, though they’re trying a new tactic. Close acquaintances of the mayor mention that they’ve had positive discussions with Michaels.
“It’s more of a whisper campaign,” a source shared. “Mamdani hasn’t directly approached them. Instead, people familiar with him have floated the idea to Mr. Roan and others at NBC.”
There are whispers that Mamdani has always dreamed of being on SNL. Though, it makes one wonder if he might have been better off sticking to his rap career as Mr. Cardamom—though, I’m not sure how skilled he is with the lyrics.
A representative from SNL remarked, “This is not true. Things aren’t progressing as we’d like.” Additionally, a source tied to Mamdani noted, “No formal request has been made.” Meanwhile, the show is on a summer break, not set to return until late September or October.
Back in March, it was reported that Mamdani was pitched for a late-night spot during the campaign. However, “they ultimately chose to go with a comedian for creative reasons,” a source explained.
Ramy Youssef took on the role of Mamdani in a sketch for the November 2025 election, sharing the spotlight with Miles Teller as Andrew Cuomo and Shane Gillis as Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani seemed to relish the parody, even posting clips of himself laughing with Youssef while dressed in the comic’s outfit on FaceTime.
He expressed excitement on social media with a post about “Live from New York.” Reports indicated that Michaels might be open to an off-air meeting with the mayor.
“Lorne is willing to meet Mayor Mamdani,” stated a source close to SNL. Historically, many politicians have made appearances on the show, including former mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani. Donald Trump has hosted twice, and figures like Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton have made guest appearances.
However, new FCC equal time regulations that mandate broadcasters provide equal opportunities to candidates may complicate future appearances of politicians on such shows.
