Joe Biden brutally mocked by Kamala Harris after repeated public gaffes

The appearance was just the latest time during her campaign that Harris has separated herself from the president.

Sources close to her campaign believe that joint appearances with Biden would be detrimental to her chances.

The vice-president has increasingly insisted that her administration would differ from the one she has served in for four years, despite maintaining public loyalty to the president.

Maya Rudolph, who played Harris on SNL, widened her eyes in concern when the Biden character suggested he might speak to reporters.

The sketch poked fun at the President's repeated public gaffes when taking questions from journalists.

Harris also used her primetime SNL appearance to mock Trump, referencing a recent incident where he struggled to climb into a garbage truck in Wisconsin.

The sketch featured Harris opposite Rudolph in a mirror-based format.

In a pep talk to Maya Rudolph during the sketch, the vice-president quipped: "I am just here to remind you that you have got this.

"You can do something your opponent cannot do, like open doors."

Biden's recent gaffe, calling Trump supporters "garbage", has caused headaches for the Harris campaign.

Biden was responding to racist comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally, where Puerto Rico was referred to as a "floating island of garbage".

According to the original transcript, Biden said: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American."

The White House press office later altered the transcript to try and defend the President, with the official record reading "supporter's" instead of "supporters".