Larry David doesn’t have much enthusiasm for President Donald Trump’s UFC event.
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator and star, 78, weighed in on Trump’s recent UFC Freedom 250 event while speaking with Variety at the premiere of his new HBO series, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.”
“It was a travesty,” David told the outlet on the carpet. “What else can you say about it? It was embarrassing. I was embarrassed to be an American.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.
The UFC Freedom 250 took place on the White House’s South Lawn on June 14 as part of the Trump administration’s celebrations of America’s 250th birthday. Trump sat ringside for the event, which was held on his own 80th birthday.
David, who cocreated “Seinfeld” with Jerry Seinfeld, is a longtime critic of Trump’s and has frequently expressed his disapproval of the president.
In 2024, David said in an interview with Chris Wallace for CNN that he “can’t go a day without thinking about what [Trump’s] done to this country.”
“He’s such a little baby that he’s thrown 250 years of democracy out the window by not accepting the results of an [election],” David said. “It’s so crazy. He’s such a sociopath. He’s so insane. He just couldn’t admit to losing, and we know he lost. He knows he lost. And look how he’s fooled everybody. He’s convinced all these people that he didn’t lose.”
David added, “He’s such a sick man. He’s so sick.”
David was also highly critical of HBO host Bill Maher’s decision to have dinner with Trump at the White House in 2025. At the time, David published a satirical essay for The New York Times titled “My Dinner With Adolf,” which likened Maher having dinner with Trump to sitting down for dinner with Adolf Hitler in 1939.
David’s new HBO comedy “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” is his own way of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. He stars in the sketch show based on events from American history, which was produced by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. Barack Obama also appears in the show.
“I’ve sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of our most intractable problems. Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David,” Obama jokingly said in a 2025 statement announcing the project.
“Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” premieres on June 26 on HBO.
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