WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President marked his 80th birthday on Sunday by hailing to end the and staging a once unfathomable on the White House’s storied .
Trump had been touting the emerging deal for weeks and the continuing conflict threatened to overshadow the extravaganza, where combatants inside a wire-mesh Octagon tried to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission.
Ahead of the event, however, the president said an agreement to end the conflict 鈥渋s now complete.” He declared that the U.S. will end its blockade of Iran, and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. Crucial details still need negotiating over the coming weeks, however.
Top administration officials and Republican leaders attended the fights, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Polish President Karol Nawrocki was also at the White House.
It started with Trump and walking together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to survey the Octagon, standing for the national anthem as fighter jets thundered overhead.
Thousands of spectators crowded into the temporary arena under 鈥� ,鈥� a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens. Thousands more watched on big screens from the nearby Ellipse.
鈥淭his event is a one of one event, incredible event,鈥� said White, a close friend of the president’s, during a Friday night hype session at the Lincoln Memorial, where pairs of fighters shoved and scuffled for the cameras under the stoic gaze of Honest Abe鈥檚 marble likeness.
Before Sunday’s final fight, lightweight fighters Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, who wrapped himself in an American flag, each stepped out of the Oval Office and walked to the Octagon 鈥� meaning Trump even ceded his workspace as part of the show.
The American Gaethje then stunned Spanish-Georgian Topuria to win after four rounds that left copious blood on the cage floor. Trump later headed inside the cage to shake hands and watch a fireworks display that launched well after 1 a.m.
That capped a night where many of the winning fighters thanked Trump and God. Heavyweight Josh Hokit took it further with an extraordinary and unfounded attack about a former first lady: 鈥淢ichelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?鈥�
Hokit also headed over to Trump and placed a chain around the president’s neck.
Rain didn’t mar fights
Wearing a suit and tie despite the summer heat, Trump a lot of time was sitting stoned-faced, watching the action through wire-mesh cage. At one point he spoke briefly with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
When American Sean O鈥橫alley fought Canadian Aiemann Zahabi, Trump donned a white USA hat. After O’Malley won, he shook Trump鈥檚 hand and saluted the president.
Earlier, as Diego Lopes was defeating American Steve Garcia in the opening fight, the president could be seen speaking to first lady Melania Trump. After Bo Nickal knocked out Kyle Daukaus in the second fight, Nickal went over to Trump and kneeled down, chatting briefly.
鈥淚 gotta thank President Trump for making this happen,鈥� Nickal said in a subsequent interview, as Trump grinned. Nickal added that the president is a 鈥渟pecial person,鈥� before Trump-favorite 鈥淵MCA” played.
The president sought to tie the fights to larger celebrations of the of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But it was so geared toward himself that the G7 summit for leaders of industrialized nations pushed back their get-together so Trump was able to attend his party, then fly to Europe for the meetings.
The weekend wasn’t all smiles for Trump, though. near the White House after a judge ruled naming it after the president had gone too far. And, before the fight began, UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland 鈥� an outspoken critic of Israel 鈥� was escorted out of the Ellipse by a crowd of law enforcement officers.
Still, predicted thunderstorms that delayed the UFC event briefly, never produced rain. Trump posted online later, that the weather was 鈥減erfect鈥� and, 鈥淭he White House has never looked more beautiful. The setting was unsurpassed!鈥�
A dramatic departure from how the last president marked his 80th
The crowd repeatedly chanted, 鈥淯SA! USA!鈥� when an American fighter faced a foreign opponent. Until the finale, that didn鈥檛 always help the American fighter prevail. After winning his fight, Brazil’s Mauricio Ruffy proposed to his girlfriend who 鈥� in Trumpian fashion 鈥� flashed a thumb’s up from the crowd.
It was all a very long way from when Trump鈥檚 predecessor, President , turned 80 in November 2022. Biden celebrated with a private family brunch at the White House, laying bare just how much and how quickly things have changed.
Asked about the contrast, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster in a statement called the UFC event 鈥渙ne of the most entertaining nights in American history.鈥�
When he turned 80, Biden was the oldest president in U.S. history, and was months away from launching a that he would ultimately after a against Trump and .
Trump has now supplanted Biden as the oldest person to be elected U.S. president. He鈥檚 constitutionally barred from running again, yet constantly toys with the notion. That鈥檚 despite polls showing rising public skepticism about Trump鈥檚 mental and physical health.
conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.
The White House countered with a statement from Trump’s former White House physician, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, saying Trump’s 鈥渟tamina, focus, and strength are exceptional and on display every day.” Jackson added that polling concerns were 鈥渂eing propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that completely ignored the absolute cognitive and physical disaster that was President Biden.鈥�
鈥楤read and circuses鈥� 鈥� Trump-style
The UFC was an apt metaphor for Trump’s pugilistic political style. He is as big a fan of as he is of cage-fighting itself.
But Trump has also long been a master of political misdirection, purposely presenting people with something other than his presidency to focus on when things aren鈥檛 going well.
With the having kept and renewing while Trump’s , a White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen can certainly qualify as a diversion.
鈥淭his is all distraction,鈥� said Mike Fontaine, a classics professor at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment meant to bolster rulers鈥� popularity and quell potential unrest.
鈥淭his is a classic strategy,” Fontaine said. 鈥淚n ancient Rome, the phrase would be, 鈥榖read and circuses.鈥欌��
Trump says the UFC is paying for the event and while its full costs haven’t been divulged, the National Park Service said in a that $60-plus million and tens of thousands of hours of labor went into it, while seven government agencies have 鈥渁llocated significant resources and manpower.鈥�
UFC also announced that it was adding as an official partner for the event to create a special $250,000 athlete bonus pool for Sunday night鈥檚 winners. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president鈥檚 special diplomatic envoy and run by his son, Zach.
The arrangement between the Trump family’s financial interests and the events and construction projects the president has prioritized and used government resources to pull off.
Still, Fontaine said that when it comes to a personal flair for pageantry, the president鈥檚 second-term tendency to lean into 鈥渉ardcore masculinity and brute fighting鈥� is marrying the UFC’s blood sport with Trump’s trademark humor and enduring sense of showmanship.
鈥淧resident Trump has a once-in-a-generation talent for this stuff,鈥� he said.
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Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
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