Jimmy Kimmel sees no reason for Donald Trump to worry about lightning strikes at his big birthday event this weekend.
The president is hosting a UFC event on the White House lawn on Sunday. The $60 million event is expected to draw around 125,000 attendees, and has been branded as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday even though it’s set on Trump’s 80th birthday.
The UFC fights will take place outdoors, a bold move given how hot and humid D.C. can be in mid-June. As of Thursday night the weather forecast indicates temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, and a significant chance of rain and thunder in the evening.
“Right now, there’s a 46 percent chance of rain in Washington on Sunday,” Kimmel noted in his Thursday monologue. “The UFC CEO Dana White said the fight will go on even if lightning strikes.”
Lightning looks like a serious potential problem the outdoor event could face but, playing weatherman, Kimmel predicted that he thinks Trump and his goons will probably be “pretty safe.”
“If God wanted the White House to be struck by lightning, that would have happened 18 months ago,” Kimmel joked, referring to Trump’s 2024 election win.
Kimmel showed viewers the current state of the White House, where the new UFC arena sits on the South Lawn close by the demolished East Wing.
“There it is, the awful tower, which now has a UFC octagon in front of it,” Kimmel said. “It has eight sides, one for each year of our lives the president has ruined.”
Kimmel noted that the event has been sponsored by Monster Energy, joking, “Could there be a better metaphor for this administration than a giant Monster Energy logo on the White House lawn?”
Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 match is deeply unpopular. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just 16 percent of Americans believe this is an appropriate time for the president to be hosting such an event.
Even MAGA-friendly podcaster Joe Rogan has been critical of the event. Like Kimmel, Rogan has cited the weather as a serious concern:
“How are they going to f--ing do anything about the bugs?” Rogan complained in May. The former UFC commentator described the June weather in DC as “hot as f---.”
“I just don’t think that you should compete in a world championship fight in a non-controlled environment,” Rogan said. “You wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy.”
