Former President Donald Trump is a massive fan of the UFC. Just hours after addressing a raucous crowd Saturday night in Rome, Georgia, the GOP frontrunner attended UFC 299 in Miami, Florida. The crowd roared with support as Trump walked to his seat flanked by UFC head and friend Dana White. Trump is no stranger to in-person UFC events, as he attended three last year despite the travel requirements of holding rallies and answering trumped-up indictments from Joe Biden’s DOJ.
As Trump strolled in to Kid Rock’s song “American Badass” playing on the sound system, the song was barely audible due to the thunderous applause for the former president. Celebrities, athletes, and well-wishers greeted Trump before and after he took his seat.
Among those seeking face time with Trump were former Nikki Haley supporter and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, former ESPN host and women’s rights activist Sage Steele, conservative political commentator and former Fox host Dan Bongino, Cincinnati Bengal quarterback Joe Burrow, and San Francisco 49er star Joey Bosa. Bosa has been a long-time supporter of Trump despite the criticism from the woke NFL and liberal San Francisco.
It should be noted that President Trump was in attendance with daughter Ivanka. She had stepped away from her father’s politics in recent years, and public appearances together had been rare. Perhaps this is an indication that she is ready to rejoin the fold and help her dad defeat Joe Biden in the General Election. As always, friend and supporter Dana White was at Trump’s side as well.
White has good reason to support Donald Trump. When the UFC was struggling in its infancy to find venues to hold events, Trump stepped up and hosted White in New Jersey, and a friendship was born. White recently got into a heated dispute with an advertiser over a video he posted to social media featuring the former president at an event in New York last year.
On an episode of Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast, White related the story. He said: “I posted a video of Trump on my personal social media. One of our big sponsors called and said, ‘Take that down.’ You know what I said? ‘Go f*** yourself. You vote for whoever you want to vote for, and I’ll vote for whoever I want to vote for. That’s how this works. I don’t even care who you’re voting for, it’s none of my f***ing business. F*** you. Don’t ever f***ing call me and tell me who to vote for.” White, much like Trump, is ferociously loyal and not open to being told what to do, especially about politics.
White gave some insight into his beliefs and where he is at 54 years old. He continued: “I’m at a point now in my life and my career where I want to be with people that I’m aligned with. It’s not just about the money; it is about the money, because it’s a sponsorship deal, but it’s not just [about the money]. I’m not going to take a bigger offer if it’s not something that I am aligned with and I don’t 100 percent believe in.”
Dana White is a free thinker and, much like President Trump, fiercely loyal to his friends. White owes Trump a debt of gratitude for giving a primarily unknown sport a fighting chance, and Dana White isn’t soon to forget it.
Featured image screen grab from embedded video
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