President Donald Trump’s flashy makeover of the White House for his tacky birthday spectacle is in full swing.
The White House, already a construction zone eyesore due to the president’s $400 million ballroom project, began looking more like an oversized event venue on Monday as crews prepared for the UFC extravaganza Trump is throwing on June 14 to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday and his own 80th.
Photos captured two cranes assembling a massive metal arch with mounted lighting fixtures near the White House’s Executive Residence, a structure the UFC teased in a rendering released Friday.
The rendering depicts a sprawling arena erected beneath the arch, along with cheering spectators, oversized patriotic imagery, an American flag with just 48 stars, and the White House in the background.
Photos taken on Monday also captured two more cranes working on the ballroom in the background, underscoring just how extensively Trump has transformed the White House grounds into a construction site.
Dana White, UFC CEO and Trump’s MAGA buddy, has said that no taxpayer money is being used for the event, with the UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, reportedly covering costs now projected to exceed $60 million, according to USA Today. TKO Group is expected to take a net loss of about $30 million, Benzinga reports.
The White House and the UFC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
White complained last week that the event could be derailed by a 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.”
White said he suggested installing fans around the venue because “gnats have a hard time in the wind.”
Trump has high hopes for his birthday bash, telling reporters he expects 5,000 spectators to watch the UFC matches at the arena. “I think it’s gonna be the biggest event we’ve ever had at the White House,” he said earlier this month.
The UFC arena and the ballroom are only two of the many renovation projects Trump has set in motion across the nation’s capital.
The president tore out the grass in the historic Rose Garden and paved over it last summer as part of the broader Mar-a-Lago-style makeover of his temporary residence. The new patio was on display during an Easter event, albeit with patches of fake grass rolled out to enliven the cement floor.
Elsewhere, he has revamped the West Wing Colonnade, adding a “Presidential Walk of Fame” to the walkway, and redecorated the Oval Office to feature significantly more gold. The Lincoln Bathroom has also been renovated in Trump’s preferred style, and is now made entirely of marble, which he described as “very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!”
Trump has also added his name to the Kennedy Center and the Institute for Peace, hung up banners featuring his face at the Department of Justice and other government buildings, and has plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
