Nate Bargatze, who has become one of America’s top-selling stand-up comedians by presenting himself as an amiable family man who only tells “clean” jokes, is facing backlash for being photographed in the company of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other “MAGA royalty” at Donald Trump’s UFC birthday bash at the White House.
Bargatze’s fans have long wondered about his politics and speculated that the Nashville-born entertainer and popular “Saturday Night Live” guest host leans conservative, but he has always managed to avoid being publicly pulled into partisan discussions.
But fans now believe they have confirmation that he’s a Trump supporter, thanks to RFK Jr.’s wife, Cheryl Hines. The former TV star posted a selfie of herself, her controversial husband and Bargatze at the UFC Freedom 250 event — with Vice President J.D. Vance in the background, according to the Daily Beast.
A top stand-up comic has been busted rubbing shoulders with MAGA royalty at Donald Trump’s 80th birthday bash UFC fight. https://t.co/Ymw0EqWxnN
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 15, 2026
On Bargatze’s X account, fans are accusing Bargatze, an avowed Christian, of being “a coward” and “a hypocrite” because he appears to be quietly aligning himself with Trump, a convicted felon who has been impeached twice and who has been accused of sexually harassing or assaulting more than two dozen women.
“WTF, @natebargatze,” one person asked. “Showing up with Cheryl (Hines) & RFK to celebrate a piece of (expletive) who allowed a fighter to hurl insults at M Obama. I guess you are a good actor, because, if that’s your circle….count me, and several others, the (expletive) out.”
That person is referring to heavyweight Josh Hokit, who is facing widespread backlash for making a vile joke about former first lady Michelle Obama after winning his match over Derrick Lewis. In front of the president and his family, Hokit seemed to be trying to court MAGA fans by appealing to one of their more base conspiracy theories, gleefully announcing, “Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right America?”
Josh Hokit gifts @POTUS his chain 🤣🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/506ZwmKavg
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) June 15, 2026
“And just like that, in one fell swoop, you’re cancelled in our household,” one person said to Bargatze. “Disappointed, but not surprised.”
And a third asked Bargatze why he doesn’t have the courage to come out and say whether or not he supports Trump — “a man accused of so many immoral things that (you) readily say (are) immoral — why don’t (you) have the Christian courage (to) tell us?”
Indeed, Bargatze, who gained widespread fame for playing George Washington in a viral, crossing-the-Delaware sketch on “Saturday Night Live” in 2023, has shared nothing about his UFC event appearance with his 3.1 million Instagram followers. He also has said nothing on X about seeing the violent cage fights on the White House lawn.
The fact that he has done neither raises questions about whether he was hoping his presence at the UFC event would not become public, reasonably aware that he would risk alienating liberal fans by celebrating Trump’s 80th birthday. Many celebrities who received invitations declined to attend, including Adam Sandler, Tom Brady, Guy Ritchie, Jared Leto, Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mario Lopez, the Daily Beast also reported. Someone else said Bargatze, who also guest-hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2024, can’t use the excuse that he only went to Trump’s birthday party because he likes UFC fighting.
But if Bargatze is silent, people on X have plenty of things to say to him, including, “Noooooooo! I’m so so so disappointed. A massive fan. Saw you at the Chicago theatre. Learning this about you is crushing. I’m heartsunk.” Another person asked, “Did you write the Michelle Obama “joke’ or just laugh along?”
This controversy comes at a challenging time for Bargatze, who’s currently on a stand-up comedy tour that brings him to such sizable venues as San Jose’s SAP Center on July 17. It also comes as his new film, “The Breadwinner,” has been hit with scathing reviews and questions about whether he can turn his stand-up appeal into movie stardom. Variety called the humor “dated,” while other critics said the film is “a pathetic Mr. Mom ripoff” and Bargatze lacks charisma and “is the absolute pits at co-writing and starring in his first feature film.”
