Donald Trump appeared to awkwardly leave Cheryl Hines hanging when she reached out to shake hands with him at a UFC 314 match in Miami on Saturday (12 April).
The US president warmly greeted Hines’s husband, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was standing directly next to her. But as Hines prepared to shake Trump’s hand, he walked straight past her.
Hines, an Emmy-nominated star best known for her role in the hit sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, was unable to hide her disappointment as she frowned, stuck out her bottom lip and turned to her husband in exasperation, who simply smiled back at her.
Trump arrived at Miami’s Kaseya centre on Saturday and made a cageside appearance alongside his three grandchildren: Kai, 17, Donald J. Trump III, 16, and Spencer, 12
On his way in, Trump stopped to greet acquaintances in the audience, including RFK Jr, with the pair sharing a handshake and a brief hug.
Footage of Trump giving Hines a cold shoulder has since gone viral online, with fans adding the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme tune to the clip.
One viewer wrote on X/Twitter: “Cheryl Hines getting blown off for a handshake by President Trump is just missing the Curb theme music.”
Another added: “Trump just totally blanking RFK’s wife feels like a scene out of Curb, hysterical.”
“Donald Trump snubbing Cheryl Hines is literally a real life Curb Your Enthusiasm moment,” chimed another.
One person said the moment would have made for “such a good Curb episode”.
At the event, Trump shook hands with supporters while others waved his trademark red MAGA cap.
After the event, the president has said he believes the standing ovation he received when taking his seat at the sports arena was an indication his administration is “doing a good job”.
It comes during a period of intense scrutiny for the president after he imposed the steepest American tariffs on imports in over a century, which has been dubbed a “major blow” to the world economy by experts.
Speaking about the standing ovation he received to reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One, Trump said: “It says we’re doing a good job. If we weren’t doing a good job, we’d get the opposite.”
The president watched Alexander Volkanovski reclaim his featherweight title, defeating Brazilian-Mexican fighter Diego Lopes for the vacant belt. Meanwhile, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett dominated Michael Chandler in the co-main slot, winning a TKO victory.