Ayo Edebiri asks Nikki Haley the main cause of the Civil War in SNL’s cold open

“Do you think it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with a ‘lavery’?”

SNL’s cold open had a surprise guest this week: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

The sketch riffed on Donald Trump’s South Carolina Town Hall with James Austin Johnson reprising his impression of the former president and current presidential candidate. At the tail end, Haley (posed as a South Carolina voter) stood up and asked, “Why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?”

Johnson’s Trump replied, “Oh my god, it’s her, the woman who was in charge of security on Jan. 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi.”

Then this week’s Saturday Night Live host Ayo Edebiri asked Haley a question: “What would you say was the main cause of the Civil War and do you think it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with a ‘lavery’?”

The question was an opportunity for a do over. In December of last year Haley said the cause of the Civil War was “the role of government.”

Responding to Edebiri, Haley said, “Yep and I probably should have said that the first time.”

Elena is a tech reporter and the resident Gen Z expert at Mashable. She covers TikTok and digital trends. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in American History. Email her at [email protected] or follow her @ecaviar_.

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