Kaitlan Collins was in the house to see Kaitlan Collins on "Saturday Night Live" just days before the U.S. presidential election.
The CNN anchor and Alabama native posted online that she attended the performance, which featured "SNL" cast member Chloe Fineman reprising her impersonation during the cold open segment. Also appearing in the same sketch was Vice President Kamala Harris, who came face to face with her "SNL" counterpart Maya Rudolph.
Also appearing earlier in the sketch were James Austin Johnson as former President Donald Trump, Bowen Yang as Sen. J.D. Vance, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden.
"Was fun to be in the audience for this one," Collins posted on X/Twitter.
Fineman posted an Instagram story featuring a photo of her with Collins on the "SNL" stage after the show. "WILD to play @kaitlancollins and [then] finally meet!" Collins reposted the story in her IG stories.
It marked the third time Fineman has portrayed Collins during the 50th season of the iconic late night sketch comedy show.
During the season premiere, with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll, Fineman's version of Collins appeared in a parody of Charlie XCX's " Talk Talk Show," with Bowen Yang as Charlie XCX and Smart as event producer Susanne Bartsch. Yang's Charlie XCX asked Fineman's Collins questions outside her comfort zone in politics.
Collins said her phone "started blowing up" while she was in Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Georgia game on Sept. 28. "The 'Bama game had just ended, and I was still in the stadium" she said. "My phone was at about five percent and I thought it was about the game.
And on Oct. 12, with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Stevie Nicks, Fineman once again played Collins in a cold open when she tossed to "Family Feud" after the sketch said former President Donald Trump did not agree to a second debate with Harris.
In 2023, CNN announced Collins would take over the network's 8 p.m. central primetime slot, previously occupied by Chris Cuomo whom the network fired in December 2021. The news came after the Alabama native moderated CNN's Republican town hall with former President Donald Trump that month in New Hampshire. Collins' handling of the event divided critics and viewers, while Variety and Puck reported CNN planned give her the primetime slot permanently after publicly supporting her performance at the town hall.
Collins, 32, became CNN's youngest-ever chief White House correspondent at age 29. "Since joining CNN in 2017, she has become one of the most influential journalists in the nation due to her tough questions, objective reporting and signature style," a CNN release said. "Kaitlan has broken numerous stories of consequence from both the Biden and Trump administrations, including significant policy decisions and major staff changes, traveling the globe extensively to report on their presidencies. Collins has also reported on the Senate special election in her home state of Alabama."
Collins replaced Jim Acosta as chief White House correspondent in 2021. When she joined the network in 2017, Collins covered the Trump White House and quickly rose to the top of her field. She covered Biden for a year-and-a-half before she became co-anchor of "CNN This Morning."
Collins is from Prattville and graduated from the University of Alabama in 2014.