President Donald Trump’s birthday cage match is confusing even his most ardent supporters.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a video of how construction is coming along for MAGA’s highly anticipated sporting event of the summer: a UFC cage match on the White House’s South Lawn.
“Happening now, from the West Wing Colonnade—Looking out toward the South Lawn of The White House.#UFC," Scavino, 50, posted on Instagram.
But his followers were seemingly confused in the comments as to what exactly was being built on the historic property.
“Thought it was a rollercoaster!” one user commented, which set off a chain of other MAGA users admitting they thought the same.
“me too what is it lol I can tell unless I have reading glasses on. Old age sucks,” another user commented.
“I was like ohhh there’s people stuck upside down? What ride is this? 😂😂😂,” another user wrote.
Cranes have taken over the White House, already a construction zone eyesore due to the president’s $400 million ballroom project, to construct the UFC octagon.
The “UFC Freedom 250” fight, which just so happens to be scheduled for Trump’s 80th birthday, is a part of the MAGA-ified America 250 celebrations.
“I think it’s gonna be the biggest event we’ve ever had at the White House,” Trump said earlier this month of the cage match.
The makeshift venue is expected to be able to hold 4,500 guests, far lower than Trump’s wish for it to hold 20,000 spectators.
Still, the president has insisted that tickets are in high demand for the event.
“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” he said. “It’s a one of a kind UFC.”
Weigh-ins for the fight will take place at the Lincoln Memorial. Trump has also said that the White House Ellipse grounds will be made available to host a “UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest,” where as many as 100,000 people could watch the fights on TV screens.
UFC CEO Dana White, who insists he’s not political despite appearing at several MAGA rallies, has said the event will be “the greatest fight card ever assembled in the history of, at least, definitely this company.”
He’s stated that no taxpayer money will be used on the spectacle. He’s asserted that the UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, are covering the $60 million. TKO Group is expected to take a $30 million loss as well.
But White gave the event a reality check this week, as he explained how the big fight could all be derailed by an apparent bug infestation at the White House.
“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 tonight,’” the 56-year-old continued. “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.”
To remedy the bug issue, White suggested putting up fans around the venue because “gnats have a hard time in the wind.”
