Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” to pose a straightforward question to a game show contestant seemingly caught up on U.S. politics: “What’s my name?”
“I was Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate,” said Kaine, as he reminded the startled contestant (played by “SNL” host John Mulaney) about the 2016 election in the game show sketch.
He continued: “At the time, you said it was the most important election in American history, and that democracy was on the line. It’s been less than eight years. What’s my name?”
Earlier in the sketch, Mulaney’s character ― a Democratic voter just a little bit self-satisfied about his knowledge of U.S. politics ― had confidently guessed the names of second gentleman Doug Emhoff and special counsel Jack Smith after seeing pictures of them.
“You seem really invested in the 2024 election,” the game show’s host (played by Michael Longfellow) told Mulaney.
“Of course I am. This is the most important election in American history. Democracy is on the line,” Mulaney replied.
Kaine recalled Mulaney voting for him to be “one heartbeat away from the Oval Office” in an election more recent than the release of the 2016 film “Zootopia.”
“What’s my name?” Kaine asked again.
Mulaney appeared stumped, protesting that it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t remember Kaine’s name, since Kaine wasn’t “a more memorable guy” like Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“This is very much a guy like Tim Walz. Let’s see them side by side,” Longfellow replied, showing a split-screen graphic of Walz and Kaine.
“Wow,” Longfellow said. “Not only does he look exactly like Tim Walz, his name was also Tim.”
You can watch more of the “What’s That Name?” sketch below.