Officially, Sunday night’s spectacle — “UFC Freedom 250” — was a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, which just so happened to fall on Donald Trump’s birthday. A coincidence of the most convenient kind, all wrapped up in an Octagon cage called The Claw and oily men beating the crap out of each other while spectators cheered the bloodsport.
There were the more usual markers of a national anniversary, too, of course: fireworks, the national anthem. Trump and Dana White — truly the two most important people in the republic — stood side-by-side, with the president saluting while White solemnly held his hand over his heart. Gigantic flags flew high over the spectacle of Justin Gaethje turning Ilia Topuria’s face into a bloody piece of meat.
By the time spectators burst into “Happy Birthday” chants for the president midway through the evening, subtlety had already left the South Lawn. It was shocking but not exactly surprising when one of the night’s big winners, Josh Hokit, ended his post-match interview by declaring, “Michelle Obama is a man!” out of nowhere.
The White House has steadily maintained that this was all about patriotism and not about some guy turning 80, but really, what does it matter? Tens of thousands of people — members of the Trump family, Donald’s political allies and donors, MAGA fans — turned up to watch blood get sprayed across the floor of a cage in America’s honor and pretend it was appropriate. The timing was especially bizarre: mere hours before the fights began, it was announced that a deal had been reached with Iran. War is over; now watch this roundhouse kick! The wife of the other president to forge an Iran deal was transgender, ho ho!
Trump himself declared the evening “one of the most exciting days in the history of the White House”, which speaks to his own definition of excitement. The White House has, of course, seen both triumphs and controversies; there have been moon landings, impeachments, wartime declarations, the signing of documents that underpin modern democracy. None of those were as personally exciting for an old man as having the UFC come to his birthday party, but they were far more consequential for America as a nation. Trump has consistently confused these two notions, and clearly continues to do so.
Not everybody has been convinced by his line of thinking. Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted in the days before the cage fight found just 16% of Americans thought holding the event at the White House was appropriate. (That includes just a third of Republicans, by the way.) Protesters gathered outside, some erecting their own symbolic cages to accuse the president of corruption and self-aggrandizement. Like all peaceful protesters who have tried to make their feelings known under two Trump administrations, they were ignored.
For years, critics have strained themselves trying to determine where Trump the politician ends and Trump the entertainer begins. Sunday supplied the answer: there isn’t a line. There’s only The Claw and “UFC! UFC! USA! USA!” If birds of a feather flock together, then it was abundantly clear what kind of bird Donald Trump is by the people present at this brutal, unserious “celebration.”
To watch paid UFC fighters walked into the octagon by actual military veterans who won battlefield honors and first responders, thus conflating beer-chugging entertainment with lasers and fireworks with real wartime hardship and mortal peril, should make most Americans sick to their stomach. To see British boxer Tyson Fury turn up to watch in a hat that says ‘Donald Trump for Prime Minister’ on it, while Elon Musk pours money into supporting far-right causes and politicians in Europe and Nigel Farage meets semi-regularly with Trump, should ring international alarm bells. The image of Melania Trump smiling slightly vacantly through bloodsports on the White House lawn while millions and millions of dollars are poured into a new ballroom and a new Middle East war and while groceries still escalate in price should at least give everyone a little flicker of worry.
Yes, all of this should be a problem. But as the absurdity escalates, fewer and fewer people have the energy to call it out. The continuing celebrations of “America” are looking pretty thin, since celebrities keep dropping out after finding out they’re actually pretty politically biased rather than the usual Spar-Spangled Banner stuff we’re all used to. But you know who’s still smiling? Every member of the Trump family, safely ensconced in their little viewing platforms above the rest of the country.
As of Monday, we’re still awaiting the details of the Iran deal. What we do know is that, like every agreement or ceasefire made previously in this conflict, Iran and the US seem to disagree on exactly what they said to each other. Oil prices are falling even though there’s no actual proof yet that the Strait of Hormuz will open by the end of the week. Military families remain on tenterhooks about what this all means. If only there was a way to make it all worth it for them — perhaps another event where even more of them could have the honor of escorting UFC fighters up to a cage.
Perhaps, once the deal is signed in Geneva, The Claw will rise again.
