Trump floats hosting UFC fight on White House grounds
Trump told supporters at a 'Salute to America' event in Iowa that there would be a youth sporting event called the 'Patriot Games' to mark the year-long celebration.
He also said national parks and historic sites, including the White House, would host special events to mark the 250th anniversary of the country's founding.
'We're going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. We're going to build a little — we're not, Dana's going to do it. Dana's great. One of a kind,' Trump said, referring to UFC president Dana White.
Trump suggested the event would be a full 'championship fight' and could host up to 25,000 people. Such an event would likely require various permit approvals to take place at or near the White House.
Trump has become something of a regular at UFC fights. The president has a years-long friendship with White. Many of the fighters who compete at UFC events have publicly expressed support for Trump, including in the Octagon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
23 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Could Children Be Detained At 'Alligator Alcatraz'? What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new detention facility being opened in Florida, named Alligator Alcatraz, could hold both adults and minors, according to a draft operational plan obtained by the local news outlet, the Miami Herald. The temporary detention center, situated at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, received federal approval last week to hold thousands of undocumented immigrants. Newsweek has contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) via email and phoned the Florida Division of Emergency Management for comment. Why It Matters The remote facility is projected to cost Florida around $450 million each year to operate, according to the Department for Homeland Security (DHS). Critics have voiced concern over the center's remote location deep in the Everglades, as well as the center's swift implementation—warning about what these factors mean for the treatment of migrants, transparency, and due process. However, proponents see the project as a cost-effective solution to manage increased immigration enforcement as the Trump administration carries out what it calls the largest mass deportation effort in United States history. Workers install a sign reading "Alligator Alcatraz" at the entrance to a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility on Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. Workers install a sign reading "Alligator Alcatraz" at the entrance to a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility on Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. Rebecca Blackwell/AP What To Know While not explicitly stating that minors may be housed in the facility, the report allegedly says that "minors shall be separated from unrelated adults at all times during transport and seated in an area near officers and under close supervision" when transported "by land," the Miami Herald reported. Per the outlet, the report also says, "snacks and water shall be given to minors, pregnant females, and as necessary for detainees with medical conditions" while being transported. Florida lawmakers have voiced their concern over the possibility, and five were recently denied entry into the facility—state Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, along with Representatives Anna V. Eskamani, Angie Nixon and Michele Rayner. Following the incident on Tuesday, the lawmakers said in a statement: "This is a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye. If the facility is unsafe for elected officials to enter, then how can it possibly be safe for those being detained inside?" President Donald Trump and Republican officials had previously visited the site without an issue. "I find it hard to believe they have safety concerns for us but no safety concerns for the POTUS when he was here just 2 days ago," Senator Smith said. The DHS told Newsweek that the temporary facility will be up and running in a matter of days with 500 to 1,000 beds, with a plan to expand capacity in 500-bed increments. By early July, the facility is expected to have 5,000 beds. The initial structures will be soft-sided temporary units, with the possibility of more permanent buildings constructed later. To house detainees at the facility, Florida will use old Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers that were previously used during disaster responses—which the DHS said was a "very low-cost option." The facility will be managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Florida's declaration of a state of emergency on immigration has allowed the state to mobilize quickly, and National Guard personnel will also assist with detention operations. What People Are Saying Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on X: "Alligator Alcatraz is a milestone in our effort to help the Trump Administration fulfill its mandate to the American people and restore our nation's sovereignty." The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement: "Alligator Alcatraz will give us the space and beds needed to detain the WORST OF THE WORST safely. This facility will be a blueprint for detention facilities across the country." State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith wrote on X: "Legislators have the statutory authority to make unannounced visits to state-run facilities, but the DeSantis regime is REFUSING us entry into 'Alligator Alcatraz'." What Happens Next Individuals arrested by Florida law enforcement under the federal 287(g) program will be detained at Alligator Alcatraz, and ICE will have the authority to transfer detainees to Florida's custody under the same program.
Wall Street Journal
28 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Watch: After Trump-Putin Call, Russia Pummels Ukraine With Strikes
Russia unleashed one of its largest attacks on Ukraine after President Trump said his latest call with Russian President Vladimir Putin made no progress on ending the war. Photo: gleb garanich/Reuters
The Hill
34 minutes ago
- The Hill
Carville: GOP megabill passage will be seen as ‘mass extinction event'
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said during a recent interview that the Republican tax and spending bill, which President Trump is expected to sign on Friday, will be seen as a 'mass extinction event,' predicting that the Democratic Party will pick up more than 40 House seats in the 2026 midterms. 'And I like with the unified party, every Democrat voted against this. Every Democrat, regardless of the ideology, their ethnicity…we can all rally around this, and we can run on this single issue all the way to 2026. And Paul is right, we're going to pick up more than 40 House seats,' Carville, the former strategist for ex-President Clinton's campaign, said during a Thursday appearance on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' 'I can tell you what the poll says today, the Democrat in New Jersey is up 20 points. That's in a state that we won by two and a half or two in 2021. I mean, you know, political anthropologists are going to look back at this and it's going to be called a mass extinction event because there are a lot of them are going to be extinct,' Carville told host Anderson Cooper. The House GOP passed President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' on Thursday, sending it to the president who is expected to sign it on Friday evening. The package, which was adopted with a 218-214 vote, contains the president's major spending priorities, extending the 2017 tax cuts and also cuts to Medicaid, which some Republican members of both chambers have expressed concerns about. All but two House Republicans – Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) – voted for the package on Thursday. All Democrats voted against the bill. Trump hammered Democrats late Thursday during his rally in Des Moines, Iowa, saying he hates them for not supporting the massive package and that Republicans will be able to benefit from it politically when midterm elections come around. 'All of the things we did with the tax cuts and rebuilding our military, not one Democrat voted for us. And I think we use it in the campaign that's coming up, the midterms,' Trump told the crowd. 'But all of the things that we've given, and they wouldn't vote. Only because they hate Trump. But I hate them, too. You know that? I really do, I hate them,' the president added. 'I cannot stand them, because I really believe they hate our country, you want to know the truth.' Carville said Thursday that 'when people go to the polls voting for this, I promise you, I promise you, this thing is really, it's like 25, 26 points underwater already.' 'And we haven't even started our education program,' the longtime operative added.
