Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP
You know what the US needs right now? Forget universal health care, better infrastructure, or an empathetic and mentally competent president – it needs a big, beautiful cage fight, baby. And because, to quote Maga merchandise, Jesus is our savior and Trump is our president, we’re almost certainly getting one. As you may have heard, Trump is intent on staging an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match on the White House lawn next year to celebrate 250 years of American independence. After all, nothing says “independence” like two half-naked men grappling in a cage.
While Trump being crass and shattering norms is par for the course, there is one surprising element to the proposed testosterone-fest: Ivanka is apparently involved. The president’s eldest daughter, and her partner in crime Jared Kushner, had their fingers in all sorts of official pies during Trump’s first term. This time around, however, there has been some meddling behind the scenes (Jared was reportedly behind Trump’s Gaza takeover plan) but Javanka have kept a deliberately low profile. Now it seems that Ivanka is stepping back in the ring.
“When [Trump] called me and asked me to do [the fight], he said, ‘I want Ivanka in the middle of this,’” the UFC president Dana White told CBS Mornings last week. “So Ivanka reached out to me, and her and I started talking about the possibilities.” White is, reportedly, scheduled to meet Trump and Ivanka later this month to discuss plans for the fight.
Why would Trump want his daughter “in the middle” of a televised brawl? It might be as simple as the fact that Ivanka, who has a blue belt in jiu-jitsu, is a UFC fan and requested the gig. There may also be a business angle: UFC recently opted to end its pay-per-view model and strike a $7.7bn (£5.7bn) deal with Paramount as the sport tries to unlock a broader fanbase. Perhaps Trump thinks Ivanka might help draw more women into the sport, which could benefit Maga down the line since UFC played a key role in Trump’s re-election campaign. Katie Miller, a big player in Trump’s orbit, recently spoke to the Washington Post about how, “in order to cultivate the future of Maga, we have to talk to women”.
Whatever the motivations for Ivanka’s involvement, I’m not sure the fight is such a winning proposition. Trump campaigned on lowering the astronomical price of groceries – which have continued to rise under his watch. If you’re going to offer bread and circuses, people have got to be able to afford the bread.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
