Saxophonist falls asleep onstage during Kamala Harris awards dinner anti-Trump rant

The atmosphere was anything but lively.

During a speech at an awards dinner on Wednesday, former Vice President Kamala Harris inadvertently lulled a saxophonist to sleep as she criticized the Trump administration.

Captured in footage from the Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award Dinner in Beverly Hills, California, and shared by TMZ, the musician could be seen nodding off just as Harris emphasized the possibility of public unrest should elections be canceled.

A video shot by an attendee showed the saxophonist with his eyes shut and head bowed for nearly a minute, positioned mere feet from Harris, who had been the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election.


Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Public Counsel Awards Dinner.
Harris, during her remarks, urged Democrats to be “ruthless” in countering Republicans and Trump. Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Harris passionately declared, “They have long had a strategy aimed at making voting so cumbersome that people are discouraged from doing it,” while the musician dozed nearby.

She went on to say, “Because they understand that the public is neither foolish nor blind to the corruption, incompetence, and lack of empathy of the current White House administration, and they are terrified of losing the upcoming midterms.”

The jazz player roused himself awake, it appears, just in time to play Harris off the stage.  

The former vice president had received the William O. Douglas Award from the lefty nonprofit law firm and was having an onstage discussion with Emmy-award-winning actress Uzo Aduba.  


A saxophonist performing on stage during the William O. Douglas Award Dinner.
The saxophonist was able to wake up in time to play Harris off stage. Instagram / public_counsel

During the chat, Harris argued that Democrats “need to be ruthless” in countering Republicans.

She also admitted Democratic politicians “dropped the ball in a variety of ways” and urged people to “challenge the status quo and fight the system on behalf of the people.”

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