Idiocracy Meets Thunderdome

In the early 1900s, the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue turned the basement into a judo/jiu-jitsu dojo, drawing international attention to martial arts. A hundred and twenty years later, he’s been topped by the current resident.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship held its Freedom 250 event at the White House this past weekend, and it was even more of a dystopian dreamscape than I could have imagined.

Ads for Trump coins and World Liberty Financial were interspersed with glossy US military propaganda video montages. Fighters with nicknames like “The Human Highlight” and “The Matador” walked through the hallowed halls of the people’s house as their music was played live by a Marine Corps band. Pyrotechnics exploded in a dizzying visual display as testosterone reached a fever pitch.

Every fight ended in a finish. Undefeated champions fell. An all-American Midwest boy was the biggest winner of the night. Justin Gaethje captured undisputed lightweight gold on his third time trying, for America and Donald Trump’s birthday.

Gaethje was elated to introduce his family to the president after his victory. Trump sat front and center as fighter after fighter left the cage post-winning to shake his hand. I expected him to present the thumbs up/thumbs down at the end of every contest.

The broadcast was squarely Team Trump. The event ended with his family filling the cage along with the winning fighter and his team. This was clearly about entertaining them.

Mark Zuckerberg also sat ringside. He announced that he’d be providing technologically advanced glasses to blind service members that could help them see; good publicity for the billionaire class. David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Sky Dance, was there to look out for his investment.

The night couldn’t have turned out better for the UFC and its president, Dana White. The weather was perfect after thunderstorms had threatened. He got the kind of fights he wanted, with plenty of action and some big knockouts. There was blood, gore, and the stars and stripes.

My objections about the Trump administration first made me think I’d boycott the event. But the fights were too intriguing. History was going to be made. I wanted to be a part of it.

I bought a ticket to watch at my local movie theater. It cost me $27, and I was looking forward to seeing the card with a group on a big screen. But a few minutes in, the display was choppy, and by the second fight, I decided to get a refund and watch at home.

I became a UFC fan when it was still banned in many states. It had been kicked off pay per view and called human cock fighting by politicians. MMA was anything but respectable back then.

Now, it’s not only in the nation’s capital but in the president’s home. MMA has gone beyond the mainstream. This might be its saturation point.

It might all be downhill from here. UFC Freedom 250 might have solidified the promotion as an arm of the Trump admin.

The event was undeniably tied to the wanna be dictator. The matter-of-fact way everyone in the crowd was going about their business would make you think we were in normal times with a normal president. But nothing is normal anymore, and none of this would be happening without Trump.

A relative of mine is currently in Spain scouting for a move. He’s been taken aback by the attitude Europeans have toward the current US predicament. Our political climate has them scratching their heads, and more and more Americans seem to be considering taking the leap and leaving the states behind.

Events like Freedom 250 further attempt to normalize the craziness that is Trump. The world sees the circus and considers it another sign of our rapid decline.

I love fighting, but watching that card made me feel disgusted. It was a state-sponsored distraction. Companies with ties to the president were co-sponsors of the event. The corruption was on full, unabashed display.

After his fight, Heavyweight Josh Hokit took the mic in the cage and said, “Michelle Obama is a man, am I right, America?” This was the mask-off moment of the night, a reminder of all the ugliness of the last decade that brought us here.

The Trumpist fighters still kissed Trump’s ass as they did before Iran, Epstein, and ICE. Nothing he does, no terrible decision he makes or horrible action he takes, will change their minds. Critical thought has gone out the window. He can do no wrong.

And the rational are looked at as insane by the cultists. Facts are pointless.

Dana White said he can’t afford to have any more events at the White House. Apparently, the production was too expensive to be cost-effective. But Trump will only turn 80 once.

Then again, the president may want to make it a return engagement. He might want to replay the night, like he does all his victories. He still can’t stop talking about his Electoral College victory against Clinton.

Melania Trump sat next to her husband last night and basked in his glory. At one point (I’m not sure if it was before or after he fell asleep in his seat), he tried putting his hand on her shoulder while the camera was on them, and she seemed to stiffen. She didn’t exactly look comfortable with his mitts on her.

But the overall optics were just what you’d expect in North Korea. Dear leader got his praise while others beat each other to a pulp for his pleasure. His queen looked on in delight, just as sadistic as he is.

Donald Trump was in the fight business long before he entered politics. As the owner of several shuttered casinos, he once had the biggest boxing matches in the world in his spaces. When the UFC needed a place to hold its events, Trump stepped up and offered sanctuary. He’s been personal friends with White and the WWE’s Vince McMahon for decades. Trump is not your average politician, and his vulgarities bleed onto his public life. It’s fitting he’d bring cage fighting to this presidency.

What says “man of the people” more than fighting? Trump’s working hard to keep his base, and I imagine they got a kick out of Sunday night. For those of us who have followed the sport since its beginnings, UFC Freedom 250 was surreal. No one ever thought mixed martial arts would ever find such a big stage. Not since Teddy Roosevelt has a president brought such attention to martial arts.

But even as a martial artist, that doesn’t make up for all the terrible things about this administration. They managed to take something I love and turn it dirty. They gave it the stench of corruption and the aura of totalitarianism. And worst of all, they’ll make you think you’re in the wrong for calling them out.

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