President Trump stunningly announced that there would be a UFC fight with up to 25,000 spectators at the White House within the next year to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday.
“Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White? We’re going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House,” Trump said in a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
A bloody cage-match on the White House grounds is likely to draw criticism from the Republican leader’s political opponents — while offering the president an unconventional way of connecting to the public.
“We have a lot of land there, we’re going to build a little — we’re not, Dana is going to do it. Dana is great, one of a kind — going to be UFC fight, championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people, and we’re going to do that as part of ‘250’,” Trump, 79, said in the speech.
Trump is a friend of White, the CEO of UFC, aka the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and attended a fight last month in Newark between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley.
Shortly after winning the Nov. 5 election, Trump attended a UFC event at New York’s Madison Square Garden with Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his son Donald Trump Jr. and Kid Rock.
Trump’s visit to Iowa was planned as a kickoff to the America250 events ahead of next year’s Independence Day, but doubled as a celebration of the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that passed hours earlier, fulfilling campaign pledges to cut taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
Trump, who spoke for more than an hour, had spent much of the prior night twisting the arms of holdout House Republicans going into the final vote.
“We’re going to have some incredible events, some professional events, some amateur events. But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal, too,” Trump said, forecasting plans for “every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites” to host “special events in honor of ‘America250’.”
Trump said there would be a “Great American State Fair” in Iowa and at fairgrounds across the country, “culminating in a giant patriotic festival next summer on the National Mall, featuring exhibits from all 50 states.”
He said he also would be “officially opening the National Garden of American heroes, a vast outdoor park featuring statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived.”
A sporting event called the Patriot Games, meanwhile, would feature “top high school athletes from all 50 states,” he said.
“Exactly one year from tomorrow, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding with a birthday party the likes of which you have never seen before,” Trump touted.
“Together, we’re going to ensure that America’s 250th anniversary is the single greatest year in the city of our country.”
The Big Apple will also host a huge event for the nation’s semiquincentennial bash. Sail4th 250 will be a six-day celebration featuring more than 30 tall ships from international militaries, a Blue Angels flight show, displays of rare historical documents and more.
The Post is a sponsor of the event.
