President Donald Trump’s vision for an all-American UFC extravaganza is drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.
The president’s plan to host a night of cage matches on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate his 80th and the nation’s 250th birthdays has taken an awkward turn.
The American flag featured in the UFC mock-up for the event has a major glitch: It only has 48 stars to represent the nation’s 50 states.
The UFC posted a rendering on X of the big event, which is being held adjacent to Trump’s paved-over Rose Garden, featuring the faulty flag, a giant platform for the contest, and a crowd of seemingly excited spectators.
An eagle-eyed observer on X spotted the goof-up.
The flag isn’t the only potential problem for the fight-off. UFC CEO and president Dana White toured the proposed event site last week and was stunned by the overwhelming number of gnats and other bugs. They’re bound to be annoying and could even present a danger to distracted performers, he fears.
“President Trump just opened the Rose Garden two nights ago, and he invited me to dinner there. The amount of gnats that were flying around. I’m like, ‘Holy s--t,’” White said on the Boardroom podcast.
“As soon as I got on the plane, I called my head of production and said, ‘Yeah, let me tell you about the gnat situation,’” recalled White. “So when you’re a fighter, think about that lighting grid, the amount of power in the lights… moths, gnats, and God knows what else.”
He added: “These are all the little details that we have to think about. That’s why I don’t like fighting outside—ever.”
He’s considering installing fans to blow the bugs away.
Trump is expecting some 5,000 spectators to watch the UFC fight, an unusually violent display for the site.
“I think it’s gonna be the biggest event we’ve ever had at the White House,” he said earlier this month.
