Donald Trump turns 80 as the White House hosts seven UFC cage fights on the South Lawn — an event billed as "UFC Freedom 250" tied to the nation's 250th anniversary — but legal fights, conflict-of-interest questions and wider political concerns have followed.
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Watchdog group the Public Integrity Project has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the event, calling the planned fights "deeply corrupt" and noting the money UFC, led by Trump ally Dana White, stands to make; the complaint also cites a recent financial disclosure that shows Trump owns up to $50,000 of stock in the company that owns UFC.
The government's filing in the case responds that the plaintiffs lack standing, that the suit was filed too late and that halting an event a year in the making would be too disruptive, and it says "well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended" on UFC Freedom 250; the White House says UFC is footing the bill for the entire event and that seven government agencies and components have been involved in coordinating it. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said there are no conflicts of interest and that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children, though it is not a blind trust, and another White House spokesperson said, "There are no taxpayer dollars being used outside of what would be applied towards employees' normal duties and responsibilities."
A poll found only 16% of U.S. adults think it is appropriate to hold mixed martial arts matches on the White House lawn; among Republicans, 31% said it was appropriate, 22% disapproved and 36% said "neither."
The UFC fights are one element of a broader slate of anniversary projects tied to the 250th celebration, including a rally on the National Mall and an IndyCar race on D.C. streets, and Trump has pursued multiple building projects at and around the White House, knocking down the East Wing to build a ballroom and an underground military complex and planning a massive arch near Arlington National Cemetery. Princeton professor of history Julian Zelizer said these moves raise different conflict-of-interest and symbolic questions given that the nation is at war with Iran, inflation has passed 4%, Russia's war in Ukraine continues, Trump's approval has sunk and the midterms are approaching.
UFC CEO Dana White has insisted the fights are about America's birthday and not Trump's and said of the president, "Trump is one of the toughest, most resilient human beings that I've ever met in my life." Trump also has a long history with the organization; in a 2023 interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast he said, "As you get older, it's not that you can't do it. I think you're physically the same. Maybe in some ways you're stronger and better, but you don't have that same motivation to do it."