Trump turns 80 with a showstopping spectacle of cage fights at the White House. But big issues loom
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump He celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday Flashy birthday show once this seemed incomprehensible: a cage fighting show in the story south lawn of the White House.
This week the harsh realities of the office threatened to overshadow the glitzy atmosphere. UFC mixed martial arts Fantasy in which warriors locked inside a wire mesh octagon try to punch, kick, chop and punch each other.
Trump has found himself boxed an unpopular and costly situation. war He helped start it in Iran. Reaching an agreement to end the conflict may be close, but key details are still to be negotiated. Meanwhile, about a mile away from Trump’s birthday party, Crews steal president’s name from Kennedy Center After the judge decided to rename Trump after he went too far.
Regardless, the president will emerge from the White House and be surrounded by Cabinet leaders, senior administration officials, Republican lawmakers and more than 4,000 screaming spectators in a makeshift arena. Claw“It’s a spaceship-like metal arch equipped with lighting, sound equipment and large screens. Thousands more will watch on large screens from the nearby Ellipse.”
“This event is one incredible event. I love it,” UFC chief said Veal WhiteIn a thrilling session Friday night at the Lincoln Memorial, a close friend of the president, the two combatants were seen jostling for the cameras under the stoic gaze of the marble-like statue of Honest Abe.
The president tried to connect Sunday’s event, which featured seven fights that continued past midnight, to larger, months-long celebrations. 250th anniversary It’s about the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
But this is more about self-fulfillment; so much so that the G7 summit of leaders of industrialized nations postponed their meeting so the president could attend the cage match party and then fly directly to France for the meetings.
But weather can hinder things greatly. Friday’s Lincoln Memorial event was disrupted by strong thunderstorms and severe lightning, and the forecast looks threatening for Sunday evening as well.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing about the weather,” White said Friday, before admitting he would prefer to hold future UFC events exclusively in arenas.
A dramatic departure from the last president’s 80th birthday celebration
When Trump’s predecessor became President Joe BidenShe celebrated Trump turning 80 in November 2022 with a private family brunch at the White House, revealing how quickly and how much things have changed.
When asked about the difference, White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the fight “will be one of the most entertaining nights in American history” and that the timing was appropriate. “It is a fitting commemoration that this demonstration takes place in the people’s homes on Flag Day, our nation’s half-centennial,” Schuster said in a statement.
At age 80, Biden was the oldest president in US history and was months away from initiating a new executive order. re-election bid you will do it after all to abandon after a while disaster debate against Trump and Revolt among Democrats He was worried that he was too old to handle a second term.
Trump has now replaced Biden as the oldest person to be elected US president. He is constitutionally barred from running again, but he has constantly toyed with the idea publicly. It’s a reminder of the concerns Biden faces as he turns 80, despite polls showing growing public doubts about Trump’s mental and physical health.
Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll The survey, conducted in April, found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental acuity or physical health to serve effectively as president.
The White House countered this with a lengthy statement from Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s former White House physician: Trump’s “resilience, focus, and strength are extraordinary and on display every day. Any claims to the contrary are pure fiction.” Jackson added that the poll concerns are being “propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that completely ignores the absolute cognitive and physical disaster of President Biden.”
Trump still lived four publicly disclosed physical examinations White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella recently declared that she is in “excellent health.”
‘Bread and circuses’ – Trump style
The UFC event is a fitting metaphor for Trump’s pugilistic political style. I’m such a big fan cage match style politics Because he does cage fighting.
But Trump has also long been a master at political misdirection; He deliberately gave people something to focus on outside of his presidency when things weren’t going well.
with war in Iran It continues to move forward, despite Trump’s assurances for weeks that the end is near, Gasoline prices remain highrenovated Concerns about inflation and falling Job approval ratings for Trump – A White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen is certainly a diversion.
“These are all distractions,” said Mike Fontaine, a professor of classics at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiator games in Imperial Rome, where warriors brutalized each other for public entertainment in an effort to boost the popularity of rulers and quell possible unrest.
“This is a classic strategy,” Fontaine said. “In ancient Rome, the phrase would have been ‘bread and circuses’.”
In a statement, the National Park Service said Trump said the UFC paid for the event and that full expenses have not yet been disclosed. application to court More than $60 million dollars and tens of thousands of hours of labor were expended while seven government agencies “dedicated significant resources and manpower.”
UFC also announced Friday that it will be added as an official partner to the event World Freedom Finance Creating a special athlete bonus pool of $250,000 for Sunday night’s winners. The cryptocurrency company is owned by the Trump family, which was founded in conjunction with the president’s special diplomatic envoy. Steve Witkoff and is run by his son Zach. Arrangement blurs the lines even more There is a tug of war between the Trump family’s financial interests and the events and construction projects the president prioritizes and uses government resources to accomplish.
Yet when it comes to his personal showmanship, Fontaine said, the president’s second-term penchant for “tough masculinity and rough-and-tumble combat” is to combine the UFC’s blood sport with Trump’s trademark humor and enduring sense of showmanship.
“President Trump has a once-in-a-generation talent on these issues,” he said.
