'Embarrassed to be an American': Larry David unleashes on Trump UFC 'travesty'

Veteran television producer, writer and comedian Larry David, well-known for his work on the hit sitcom "Seinfeld" in the late 1980s and 1990s, has been a blistering critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. And now, he is speaking out against an event that Trump used to celebrate his 80th birthday on July 14: the widely publicized Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House.

Variety asked David, now 78, to weigh in on the UFC gathering at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and he didn't mince words.

David told Variety, "It was a travesty. What else can you say about it? It was embarrassing."

The former "Seinfeld" producer made it clear that he considered Trump's UFC event highly unpresidential.

"I was embarrassed to be an American," David bluntly told Variety during the interview.

David has a long resumé in U.S. television.

After working briefly on "Saturday Night Live" during the 1980s, the producer and writer went on to create the popular "Seinfeld" (starring Jerry Seinfeld) in 1989. And the show lasted almost a decade before concluding in 1998. David went on to star in another popular series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," on HBO from 1999-2024.

David is a longtime supporter of liberal causes and the Democratic Party, vehemently criticizing Trump during the United States 2024 presidential election and continuing to criticize Trump after his return to the White House on January 20, 2025.

David was hardly alone in criticizing Trump's UFC event on July 14. Quite a few Democrats attacked it as unpresidential, and many Never Trump conservatives saw it as a metaphor for Trump's MAGA politics — which they view as style over substance and bad for the conservative movement.D avid has also been feuding with "Real Time" host Bill Maher, who is also a frequent critic of Trump.

After Maher had dinner with Trump inside the White House, David criticized the "Real Time" host for meeting with him. Maher countered, however, that he wasn't endorsing Trump's ideas — only trying to have some type of dialogue with a political figure he has major disagreements with.