
Trump announces White House UFC fight
Speaking at a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Trump outlined a number of activities planned for the celebration of America's 250th anniversary, saying it will be 'a birthday party the likes of which you have never seen before.'
The celebrations will include both professional and amateur events at national parks, battlefields, and historic sites, as well as a sports tournament called the Patriot Games featuring high school athletes from all 50 states.
Trump surprised the audience by saying: 'We're going to have a UFC fight – think of this – on the grounds of the White House.' He added that there is 'a lot of land there' and that the event would be 'a championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people,' with UFC CEO Dana White organizing the event.
Details about the exact location on the White House grounds and the timeline for the UFC event have yet to be disclosed.
Donald Trump just announced that there is going to be a UFC hosted at the White House during next year's 4th of July. Have to be kidding me. Idiocracy is real. pic.twitter.com/ETnaoV2LLC
The announcement has already drawn attention for its unconventional nature and has sparked debate among critics and supporters.
Many Trump fans have praised the idea on social media, calling it bold and uniquely American. One user on X called it 'one for the history books.' Another said the fight will make the US Semiquincentennial 'legendary.'
Several users have said the proposed fight is 'nothing new,' noting that former US President Theodore Roosevelt set up a dojo in the White House to practice martial arts and even held a jiu-jitsu demonstration in the East Room.
Others responded with ridicule. 'This is straight out of Idiocracy,' one critic wrote, referring to the 2006 dystopian comedy film that depicts a future America overwhelmed by anti-intellectualism and spectacle. Another user suggested that the White House might next host 'midget wrestling in the East Room.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
WATCH LIVE: Trump signing Big Beautiful Bill
US President Donald Trump is set to sign a sweeping multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package he dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill' into law. It comes just a day after the legislation was approved in a narrow vote in the US House of Representatives. The signing ceremony is taking place place at the White House on Friday, July 4, during an Independence Day picnic hosted by the US president for military families. The nearly 900-page-long piece of legislation extends the 2017 tax cuts from Trump's first term and temporarily lowers taxes on tips and overtime pay. It also includes hundreds of billions in new spending allocated for the president's border and national security agenda. In particular, it includes funding for the US-Mexico border wall and large-scale deportations of migrants. To partially offset the costs, the bill imposes deep cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and clean-energy subsidies. Nearly 12 million Americans relying on Medicaid will lose their medical insurance by 2034 and 3 million will lose their eligibility for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits, as a result of the cuts, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. The legislation is expected to raise the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next decade by incurring revenue losses amounting to $4.5 trillion and bringing only $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, the budget office estimated. It also contains a provision increasing the national debt ceiling by $5 trillion to allow further borrowing. The House vote on Thursday, just a day before the July 4 deadline set by Trump, followed a tense 24 hours of internal GOP negotiations. GOP holdouts in the Republican-led House initially blocked a procedural vote on Wednesday. Trump had to personally call lawmakers into the early hours of Thursday to win them over. Only two Republicans – Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania – ended up breaking rank to vote against the legislation. DETAILS TO FOLLOW


Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
US defense secretary personally halted weapons to Ukraine
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended shipments of weapons to Ukraine on his own accord despite a military review claiming that the aid would not endanger US readiness, NBC News has claimed. The decision was reportedly made without consulting lawmakers or foreign partners. Reports of a halt in US military aid to Ukraine emerged earlier this week. US news outlets claimed that the items affected included Patriot missile systems, artillery shells, GMLRS rockets, and other munitions. Washington's envoy to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has since confirmed the move, attributing it to concerns that continued military assistance to Kiev could deplete key munitions needed for US forces. However, NBC reported on Friday, citing three unnamed sources, that a review by senior military officers had found that American stockpiles are not yet beyond critical minimums. The outlet claimed that Hegseth nevertheless halted the shipments in a 'unilateral step,' marking the third time he has done so since taking office. The previous suspensions were reversed following pushback from Congress. NBC further suggested that none of the suspensions were coordinated in advance with lawmakers or the administration. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told the outlet that the justification based on readiness concerns was 'disingenuous,' suggesting that the decision reflected a broader agenda within the White House to end US aid to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has described the halt as part of a 'capability review,' stating on Wednesday that the US cannot 'give weapons to everybody all around the world.' The White House has defended the pause, citing an ongoing Defense Department review. At the same time, US President Donald Trump also told reporters on Thursday that the US is still 'giving weapons' to Ukraine, but must also ensure its own military needs are met. Military experts have noted in statements to the German tabloid Bild that if weapon shipments to Ukraine stop, Kiev could run out of key ammunition stocks by late summer. The halt could leave the Ukrainian military struggling to intercept Russian strike drones and make Kiev's US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers 'virtually useless.' Moscow has welcomed the suspension of military aid to Kiev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has suggested that the freeze could speed up the end of the conflict. 'The fewer missiles that arrive in Ukraine from abroad, the closer the special military operation is to ending,' Peskov said. Russia has long condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome and increase the risk of escalation.


Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
Putin is ‘mocking' Trump
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'mocking' his US counterpart Donald Trump's peace initiatives. The top Polish diplomat took to X on Friday to respond to a series of overnight Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian drone production facilities, an airfield and an oil refinery, which Moscow said was a response to 'terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime.' . 'President Trump, Putin is mocking your peace efforts. Please restore supplies of anti-aircraft ammunition to Ukraine and impose tough new sanctions on the aggressor,' Sikorski wrote, complaining that a Russian strike had damaged the Polish embassy compound in Kiev. Ukraine's military reported that Russia launched over 330 drones in what was described as the largest single drone offensive to date. With the addition of missile strikes, the total number of projectiles reached approximately 550, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yury Ignat estimated. Moscow says it never targets non-military targets and attributes collateral damage to Ukrainian air defenses and Kiev's alleged propensity to station military assets in civilian areas. The US has paused certain weapons deliveries to Ukraine to preserve its own strategic reserves. Trump clarified on Thursday that there was no complete freeze on military aid while announcing that he and Putin had held a phone call, which the US president characterized as disappointing. Kiev and its Western backers, including Poland, continue to press Washington to expand sanctions on Russia, boost military support for Ukraine, while hoping Trump will continue to pick up the considerable financial burden arming Ukraine places on the US budget. One of their key demands is that Moscow agree to an unconditional ceasefire lasting at least a month. Russia has rejected that proposal, describing it as an attempt to allow Ukrainian forces to regroup. During peace talks in Istanbul last month, Moscow proposed a conditional truce offering two possible frameworks: one requiring Ukrainian troop withdrawal from all Russian territories; and the other, mandating a halt to Ukrainian mobilization and suspension of Western military aid. Both were rejected.