He’s a rising star in the stand-up comedy circuit and he hasn’t publicly bad-mouthed President Donald Trump.
That makes Nate Bargatze an easy target for the perpetually outraged leftist mob.
After the PG-rated funnyman was spotted at Sunday’s UFC event at the White House, some social media rabblerousers began trashing him in the latest effort to “cancel” a celebrity for some perceived misbehavior.
But via his representative, Bargatze was quick to shut down the criticism with a statement emphasizing that there was nothing political about his decision to attend the Freedom 250 fight.
Per Sporting News:
A representative for Bargatze told the Huffington Post that the comedian “to enjoy a sport he loves” and took a picture with Kennedy and Hines because he doesn’t turn down photo requests.
Bargatze was one of more than 4,000 guests who were able to watch the Freedom 250 card up close, though about 80,000 watched from screens on the Ellipse south of the White House.
Bargatze was far from the only comedian in attendance, as Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe were also at the White House for the event while Mark Zuckerberg, Robert Kraft and James Dolan were among the biggest names who also showed.
Later in the same article:
Speaking to the Huffington Post, a representative for Bargatze insisted the comedian is non-political and attended the Freedom 250 card as a UFC fan.
“Nate is family friendly entertainment first,” the representative said. “He is not political nor is anything he produces. He is also a huge UFC fan and has been since before it became political.”
Of course, those calls for boycotts also receive plenty of criticism in return:
Those on the left really need to do some self reflection. There are way too many other important things in life than to gripe about his attendance at the event.
— Catsaregreat (@Wendy80922) June 16, 2026
The dude went and attended an event that is once in a lifetime. The leftists look for reasons to get their panties in a wad and cancel someone. Give me a break.
— Duffman (@Duffman6969420) June 16, 2026
Libs protesting against Nate? Oh, that reminds me I need to purchase The Breadwinner on Amazon Prime and Full Time Magic on Paramount+. Maybe a day of binging Nate would be good for us all to do. @natebargatze never fails to bring a smile and lighten one's troubles for a while.
— Iva Faith Inham (@IvaFaithInham) June 16, 2026
Here’s what USA Today added:
Reactions to Bargatze, who did not publicize that he was at the event, have been swift.
One X user, who called the comedian “MAGANate,” wrote, “I used to enjoy @natebargatze, but then I learned that he thinks fascism is funny.” Another wrote, “Nah. I loved that guy, and I generally don’t do boycotts, but I’m done with him.”
A Threads user went further with their displeasure: “We have tickets to see Nate Bargatze in July. Sold them back at 1/2 the price this morning.”
The historic event, which took place on the White House lawn and coincided with President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, has drawn criticism for everything from using public property for a private, for-profit event to its lack of congressional approval. Other critics lamented the White House hosting a combat sporting event amid the Iran War and many Americans facing an affordability crisis.
As a palate cleanser, here’s a compilation of Bargatze’s refreshingly non-political punchlines:
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