Nate Bargatze has finally broken his silence after attending Donald Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations—a move that outed the Grammy-winning comedian as MAGA and angered “heartbroken” fans.
The top-selling comedian was seen at the White House UFC match, mingling with MAGA royalty and posing for photographs with various members of the Trump family and current administration.
In the wake of fierce backlash, the top-selling comedian had gone silent. Bargatze’s representatives, meanwhile, insisted that his attendance at the condemned event was not, in any way, political.
But Bargatze himself did not make any public statements or social media posts until Thursday, 11 days after he attended the White House event. The 47-year-old posted an Instagram photo dump of his ongoing tour, writing, “Three cities. Four shows. One great weekend. Thanks to everyone who joined us in Houston, Austin, and Corpus Christi. Phoenix, we’ll see you soon 👀.”
The post was a collaboration between fellow comedians Justin Smith, Derrick Stroup, and Steven Rogers.
Bargatze, the highest-grossing comedian in the country, was welcomed back to social media with positive comments from fans, some of whom seemed to refer to last week’s headline-making revelation. “The man cannot be stopped 🔥 🔥,” wrote one. “Beat the haters!!” wrote another.
Notably, actress Selma Blair commented on the post, too, writing, “🙌🙌.” Blair has been criticized for making Islamophobic comments in the past. The Cruel Intentions actress later apologized for having “conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists, a terrible err in my words.”
While positive comments remain on Bargatze’s post, Instagram appeared to be hiding negative comments. Several comments disappeared. At the time of writing, a few–albeit more conspicuous–remain. One user wrote, “🫤.” Another tagged Bargatze’s entertainment network, @natelandentertainment, and wrote, “Any felons on upcoming tour dates?”
One comment reads, “Real quick B how many capitols you storm.”
At the bottom of the post on Instagram’s web version, several “hidden” comments were revealed. “Condemn the horrid comment about our former First Lady and apologize/explain your WH visit to your progressive/Mexican-American/feminist fans. You had some — many, in fact. We liked you; we simply want clarity if you value us — or not.@natebargatze," one user wrote. The comment is not explicitly visible on the post.
After Bargatze was exposed as MAGA last week, many of his anti-Trump fans were horrified by his choice to attend the celebration. “Hate to learn who the real @natebargatze is,” Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko posted on X. “I was a fan.”
“Finding out Nate Bargetze is MAGA is the most disappointing news of the day,” one fan wrote on Threads.
“Weird hill for @natebargatze to die on right? The most vile place he could be,” said another.
Dozens of others expressed disillusionment and disappointment that Bargatze, typically viewed as a family-friendly comedian, was cozying up to those in Trump’s orbit.
His silence in the face of criticism was also questioned, including by fellow comics.
Jimmy Kimmel Live staff writer Laurie Kilmartin wrote on Threads, “All I know is if I were to attend an event that led my peers, friends, or fan to conclude that I am MAGA or sympathetic to Trump, I would post an immediate, all-caps correction on every app, even BlueSky.”
A source told the Daily Beast that Bargatze and his team discussed the potential backlash he would receive by going to the event. The Nashville native attended anyway.
Bargatze has yet to comment on his attendance or the backlash.
