Zohran Mamdani has not given up on his wish to appear on “Saturday Night Live,” even after an earlier attempt by his team to get him booked during his 2025 mayoral campaign was reportedly turned down by show boss Lorne Michaels. According to the report, Mamdani’s allies are now pursuing a quieter strategy, with friends and confidants supposedly making informal appeals to people close to Michaels and NBC rather than requesting an appearance directly.
The mayor is described as having a lifelong dream of being on the iconic sketch comedy series. The story says his camp is still hoping to make that happen, though sources quoted in the report give conflicting accounts of whether any real request has been made. A representative for “SNL” denied receiving anything, saying the show had heard nothing about an appearance. A source close to Mamdani likewise said there had been no formal ask.
The article notes that “SNL” is currently on summer hiatus and is not expected back until late September or October, meaning any possible discussion would likely remain off-air for now. It also recalls a previous report from March that Mamdani’s team had pitched him to appear on the show during the campaign, but that the producers chose comedians instead for creative reasons.
That earlier election sketch aired on November 1, 2025, and featured comedian Ramy Youssef portraying Mamdani, with Miles Teller playing Democrat Andrew Cuomo and Shane Gillis as Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani appeared to enjoy the impersonation and later shared clips of the sketch, including a video of himself laughing during a FaceTime call with Youssef while the comedian was still in costume.
The report says Michaels was open to meeting Mamdani privately, even if the show did not move forward with an on-air appearance. It also points out that Mamdani would not be the first politician to appear on “SNL” if he eventually made it onto the show. Past political guests have included former New York City mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, along with Donald Trump, who hosted twice, and cameos from Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton.
The story also mentions a possible obstacle: a new FCC Equal Time Rule that requires broadcast stations to give equal opportunities to candidates for the same office. That rule could make it more difficult for “SNL” to feature politicians during active campaigns, especially when appearances could be viewed as part of election-related coverage. Still, the piece suggests Mamdani’s interest in the show remains strong and his circle has not entirely abandoned the idea.
