• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & Entertainment

Watch Bernie Sanders and Larry David Play Each Other on ‘Saturday Night Live’

By
Sam Frizell
Sam Frizell
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Sam Frizell
Sam Frizell
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 7, 2016, 10:10 AM ET
Photograph by Alex Wong — Getty Images

Bernie Sanders and Larry David are pretty, pretty, pretty good.

The Vermont Senator had trouble containing a grin on Saturday night standing next to his dopplegänger on Saturday Night Live, where the two appeared on stage together just two days before the Democratic primary in New Hampshire.

The two sometimes-prickly Jews from Brooklyn have similarly bald pates and are about five years apart in age, and have been compared at least since Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David first played Sanders last year on SNL.

But Saturday was the first time the two appeared together on stage. Sanders stepped off the campaign trail in New Hampshire to take a brief sojourn down to New York, where he could reach a national audience and poke fun at himself. Sanders’ campaign widely promoted the appearance before Saturday night, texting his supporters shortly before he appeared on air and changing his Twitter photo to a photo of David.

Appearing on SNL is an unusual shtick for Sanders, who is obsessively on-message during his campaign and says he despises frivolity in politics. In an interview with TIME last year, he derided coverage of politics as a “baseball game,” saying he wanted to focus on the issues.

The cliches of both men were on full display on Saturday. In one skit, David plays a cantankerous passenger on a ship that has sailed into a storm. In order to get onto a lifeboat, David’s character says he should get priority because he is from a rich family.

And that, of course, is Sanders’ cue to enter. “I am so sick of the one percent getting this preferential treatment!” says Sanders as he strides out on stage. “Enough is enough! We need to unite and work together if we’re all going to get through this!”

“That sounds like socialism to me,” David responds. “Democratic socialism!” Sanders retorts.

David in an earlier skit plays a more exacting and irritable version of Sanders running for president on the say of the Iowa caucus, in which David-as-Sanders accidentally turns off voters.

David refuses to shake a voter’s hand after she sneezes in it. “I’m running for president. I don’t shake disgusting hands,” David says. He later touts his average donation size. “Listen, people love me. I have more individual donations than any candidate in history and I don’t take from millionaires and billionaires. The average donation is—” and then his campaign staff interrupts—”$27, yeah everbody knows!” (Sanders repeats the average donation size often on the campaign trail.)

Hillary Clinton appeared on SNL last year, playing a bartender alongside Kate McKinnon. Donald Trumphas also appeared on the show.

Sanders returns to campaigning in New Hampshire on Sunday. An aide to the Senator said he was not spending the night in New York and would return immediately after the show was over.

At the end of their screen time together, David turns to Sanders and asks him how the campaigning in New Hampshire is going. Sanders repeats David’s signature Curb Your Enthusiasm line.

“It’s pretty, pretty, pretty good,” he says.

This article originally appeared on Time.com

About the Authors
By Sam Frizell
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By TIME
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Big TechStreaming
Trump says Netflix-Warner Bros. deal ‘could be a problem’
By Hadriana Lowenkron, Se Young Lee and BloombergDecember 7, 2025
3 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentReligion
This pastor fills up arenas with young people by not sugarcoating the Bible, serving a generation ‘gravitating towards that authenticity and truth’
By Charlotte Kramon and The Associated PressDecember 7, 2025
11 hours ago
MagazineWarren Buffett
Warren Buffett: Business titan and cover star
By Indrani SenDecember 7, 2025
16 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Former Amazon Studios boss warns the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal will make Hollywood ‘a system that circles a single sun’
By Jason MaDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
Raul Rocha Cantú
LawCrime
Miss Universe co-owner gets bank accounts frozen as part of probe into drugs, fuel and arms trafficking
By Fabiola Sánchez and The Associated PressDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
Zaslav, Sarandos
BankingMedia
A Thanksgiving dealmaking sprint helped Netflix win Warner Bros.
By Michelle F. Davis and BloombergDecember 6, 2025
2 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
AI
Nvidia CEO says data centers take about 3 years to construct in the U.S., while in China 'they can build a hospital in a weekend'
By Nino PaoliDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
The 'Great Housing Reset' is coming: Income growth will outpace home-price growth in 2026, Redfin forecasts
By Nino PaoliDecember 6, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The most likely solution to the U.S. debt crisis is severe austerity triggered by a fiscal calamity, former White House economic adviser says
By Jason MaDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook for the metaverse. Four years and $70 billion in losses later, he’s moving on
By Eva RoytburgDecember 5, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Europe has a 'real problem’
By Katherine Chiglinsky and BloombergDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
11 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.