The following comparison shot is circulating on social media (I grabbed it here). In it we see not only the ballroom project, but, as ABC News reports, Construction underway on UFC Octagon at White House for Flag Day fights. Not just Flag Day, but also Trump’s birthday. No doubt the planners only learned that bit of trivia after the fact. What a coincidence!
So, on the one hand, there is something very much “dumbest timeline” about having a UFC fight on the White House property. It hardly screams dignified unity or patriotic solidarity. It does not strike me at all as something that helps us all celebrate the 250th anniversary of independence.
It seems worth noting that UFC fans are mainly white males 18-44, which makes this feel a bit like pandering to a segment of MAGA. It is very “manosphere” coded. Certainly, it is rather impossible to call UFC some kind of broadly appealing sport. Baseball is, traditionally, “America’s pastime,” and these days the NFL is probably America’s sport. FWIW, I wouldn’t be happy with either a temporary baseball diamond or a football field on the White House lawn.
Mostly, however, it all feels like an extravagant way for a wannabe king to have a cool birthday while rewarding a political ally (and probably creating a nexus for corruption).
See, for example, Time: How Dana White Took the UFC From the Fringes to the White House.
In terms of corruption opportunities, I noted this via the BBC (White House erects UFC cage ahead of US 250th anniversary celebrations).
The promotion will also offer “high roller” packages for some VIP guests, granting them special access at the event. The UFC did not confirm the cost, but guests will reportedly need to fork out $1.5m, according to respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.
I’m sure people paying $1.5 million for special access to an event at the White House are merely superfans of the sport
The UFC said it will not profit from the event, according to its parent company TKO Group Holdings, with president Mark Shapiro saying the show is “an investment for the long term”.
The White House has hosted recreational sports and events in the past, but the UFC’s show will mark the first professional live sporting event to take place on the grounds.
This is just one huge subsidized promotion event for UFC. Even if the federal government isn’t spending any money on this (which I doubt), Trump is giving White and UFC massive amounts of the kind of free publicity that could not be otherwise purchased. It is Trump using federal property and imagery as a gift to a friend.
This all screams the notion that Trump thinks he owns DC as long as he is president. All of this reminds me of this piece by Don Moynihan that I had been meaning to share: Scenes from a personalist regime. I recommend it in full, but I warn the reader that it will make you some combination of nauseated and angry.
