Larry David writes all of his comedy from aspects of his life or observations about the people around him. For example, his terrible experience on Saturday Night Live inspired one of the best episodes of Seinfeld. Even his tumultuous relationship with comedian Richard Lewis has inspired the dynamic between them on Larry's hit HBO show, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Given how constantly overwhelmed we all are by world events that are ripe for ridicule, it makes sense that Larry would mine story ideas from broader aspects of society. This includes why he chose to wear a "Make America Great Again" hat in a Season Ten episode of the mostly-improvised show.
Critics of President Donald Trump saw Larry's choice to wear the MAGA hat on Curb Your Enthusiasm one way, while Trump's fans (and Trump himself) saw it completely differently.
In the episode, the anti-social Larry David (playing a warped version of himself) dons the MAGA hat to get out of social obligations and even get seated alone at restaurants. AKA, it's used as a people repellent. However, it may not have been as obvious a political statement as it appeared...
The Whole MAGA Thing Was All About Being Funny And Had Nothing To Do With Being Political
Recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm star and executive producer Jeff Garlin went on air and set the record straight. Given how reclusive Larry David is, Jeff is the next best thing to give us authentic tidbits about the making of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
So, what did he have to say about the MAGA hat scene?
During an interview with Ari Melber and Michael Steele on MSNBC, Jeff Garlin explained the rationale behind using the MAGA hat in the tenth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Ari Melber led Jeff into the question about the "Make America Great Again" hat by saying, We have that famous MAGA scene in a recent Curb where Larry's had a red hat and that would help him avoid talking to people because he's in a Blue state [California]. Um, walk us through all of that and Curb getting political."
"Well, you have to understand, we don't look at it as getting political, "Jeff began. "It's a comedic opportunity. So, him wearing the MAGA hat is all about being funny, not making a point. We have no time to make points. That's not what we do. We want to point out ignorance or craziness in the world and use it for comedy."
Jeff then went on to admit that both he and Larry are Liberals, insinuating that they will not be voting for Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
"[That's] all good and fine. But that's not our approach," Jeff said. "Our approach is 'What is fun?' Is it funny? Um, that's all it's about. And the MAGA hat idea [is] crazy funny."
President Trump Totally Missed The Satire...
After the episode with the MAGA hat aired, Donald Trump re-tweeted a clip with the caption, "Tough guys for Trump". This was in reference to a moment when Larry is driving and cuts off an angry biker in his car. To avoid conflict, he puts on the MAGA hat, and the biker is scared off.
Of course, the President only saw the moment as a positive homage to himself and his support. AKA, if you're a tough person, you're automatically a Trump supporter.
While that moment with the biker could've been misconstrued in the way Trump clearly wanted it to be, the episode's context clearly made wearing a MAGA hat a negative thing.
Well, it's a positive thing if you don't want to communicate or have relationships with anyone...
The MAGA hat was meant to be seen as people repellent... At least, this is what Curb Your Enthusiasm showrunner Jeff Schaffer claimed in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Larry David Doesn't Care If He's Offended MAGA Fans
One of the only times Larry himself has spoken about the MAGA hat scene was in an interview while promoting the latest season of Curb. In the interview, Larry was asked if he cared that the Trump gag may be alienating some of his Curb fans. In response, he said, "Alienate yourselves! Go! Go and alienate! You have my blessing! No, I could give a f***!"
Larry Does Get Political On Curb... It's Just Rare
While Larry and the team behind Curb Your Enthusiasm tend to keep some distance politically on their show, they have touched upon the subject before. However, the series usually does this in a way that makes fun of peoples' ignorance and narcissism, not unlike what Jeff Garlin said in his recent MSNBC interview.
An example of this would be when Larry decides that he doesn't want to sleep with a gorgeous woman after he finds out that she's a Republican. However, this satirical perspective went the other way in a different episode where he decides to sleep with a Palestinian woman who is vehemently against his Jewish heritage. The point is, there is no rhyme or reason behind the politically sensitive storylines on Curb Your Enthusiasm aside from the fact that they have to be funny.
That's it...
It's about being funny.
However, what Larry David doesn't think is funny is the current state of his country. This is why he has been taking part in several online campaigns over the past couple of years. This includes getting people out to vote for Former Vice President Joe Biden. According to The Daily Mail, Larry will be hosting a mini-Seinfeld reunion with Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. This virtual fundraiser has the aim of turning the critical state of Texas over to Democratic control. This would diminish the chances of incumbent President Donald Trump getting re-elected.
Win or lose, we're sure Larry will come up with more clever ways of making satirical observations of people on all sides of the political aisle.
