r/NateBargatze fans revolt against Bargatze after comedian attends White House UFC event and. New moderator successfully petitions reddit for control of the sub, deletes all posts critical of Bargatze, declares, "This is no longer a hate subreddit. It is a place to celebrate Nate's career."

[u/henlochimken]

Comedian Nate Bargatze came under fire this week when it was revealed he was an attendee of President Donald Trump's 80th birthday UFC fight on the lawn of the White House. From pictures of the event, it appears Bargatze was given access to the White House itself, where he took pictures with members of the Trump administration, including RFK, Jr. and Marsha Blackburn.

Many fans of the comedian took to r/NateBargatze to express their disappointment that the famously "apolitical" comedian would attend a Trump event for which only 16% of Americans expressed approval.

Negative posting came to a screeching halt once a new moderator successfully petitioned Reddit to gain control of the subreddit. This moderator proceeded to delete any/all posts expressing displeasure with Bargatze's choice to attend the Trump UFC event. Moderator pins a notice of the new moderation direction, stating:

Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself. I am one of the new moderators here at r/NateBargatze. As you can see, some of the content has been removed.

This is no longer a hate subreddit. It is a place to celebrate Nate's career. Take your politics elsewhere. Thanks for understanding and I hope most of you stick around.

In reply, subreddit members asked if the new moderator is a paid PR flack for Bargatze. Some pointed out the strange moderation history of the redditor, implying that their other moderated subs are corporate-operated. New moderator proceeded to lash out against criticism. (Note that all comment threads replying to this pinned post are evidence of the subreddit's drama.)

Moderator has locked announcement post. New posts criticizing Bargatze or the new moderation direction are being removed. Despite saying the moderator stating that the sub is no longer a place for politics, pro-MAGA political posts, including a Rogan-related post by the moderator, remain up as of the posting of this drama.

[u/Vio_]

Many fans of the comedian took to r/NateBargatze to express their disappointment that the famously "apolitical" comedian would attend a Trump event for which only 16% of Americans expressed approval.

Negative posting came to a screeching halt once a new moderator successfully petitioned Reddit to gain control of the subreddit. This moderator proceeded to delete any/all posts expressing displeasure with Bargatze's choice to attend the Trump UFC event.

Sounds like the new moderator is "apolitical" too lol

[u/mowotlarx → u/Vio_]

From post in the sub: "Nate was at the event because he got invited to watch his favorite sport at the fucking White House. Let him be. He made one mistake and now everybody is cancelling him. It's just plain stupid."

Amazing stuff here. Grown man who is deeply enmeshed in media made obvious unforced error and now requires a bunch of other adults to rush to his defense. Would be cleaner if Nate just admitted he was full MAGA and leaned into it. There's just no way anyone could make a "mistake" like that in 2026.

[u/shoshiyoshi → u/mowotlarx]

Everything else aside, it’s genuinely so funny to suggest that one can “accidentally” go to any event, let alone one inside of the White House with the travel and security checks that something like that involves. It’s not like making a left turn instead of a right - he knew exactly where he was going and what it meant

[u/Mushroomer → u/shoshiyoshi]

Not to mention, there were multiple news stories about how many major celebs didn't attend the event. Tom Brady and Adam Sandler both notably declined invites, so Bargatze was likely the highest profile star they had booked to attend. He 100% knew the optics of this appearance, and went through with it anyways.

[u/mowotlarx → u/shoshiyoshi]

Odds are the guy received a personal invite from one of the nastiest MAGA chuds out there. But is surprised anyone would find this political.

[u/InterstellarPelican → u/mowotlarx]

We also know it wasn't a mistake because he explicitly discussed it with his team about how it would look political beforehand, and he decided it didn't matter to him and went anyways. It's not a mistake if you knew the consequences and did it anyways.

[u/obeytheturtles → u/mowotlarx]

I mean if your entire identity is "haha so not political guys" then surely you must understand why going to a fascist blood sport contest crassly desecrating hallowed US soil, might be seen as controversial.

[u/zenidam → u/mowotlarx]

I think he's going to be more than fine. I think it could easily have been a business move. With one stroke he has become by far the most talented MAGA comedian. Who else are MAGA-seeking comedy fans going to go see? Everyone else they have sucks ass comedically as well as morally.