Donald Trump's UFC White House birthday party – an ugly, tasteless display of violence and grift

At 10am on Saturday, a large man theatrically staggered onto a stage in a hotel conference room, wearing stretchy boxer shorts and covered in tattoos. In a California drawl, he slurred a few words about having had too much to drink the night before, adding: "Who wouldn't? I have a giant black man who wants to knock me out." Then, with cameras broadcasting him live to the world, he repeatedly pretended to vomit on himself, drooling globs of spit onto his chest and abdomen. The man is Josh Hokit, and he's Donald Trump's favourite UFC fighter. Last night he won his fight in two rounds by technical knockout, after pinning fan favourite Derrick Lewis to the mat and repeatedly punching him in the face. The fight took place on the South Lawn of the White House, in a vulgar display of extreme violence to entertain Trump on his 80th birthday. The fight was sponsored by Trump's social network, Truth Social, "the real voice of President Trump". And the fighters will be paid, in part, using USD1 - a cryptocurrency owned by a Trump family business. Celebrating his victory, Hokit presented Trump, sitting ringside, with a gold chain medallion featuring a picture of himself, before staring down the camera lens and shouting "Michelle Obama is a man." The South Lawn is usually where visiting dignitaries and world leaders are greeted when they visit the White House - most recently King Charles and Queen Camilla. It's where Marine One lands. Instead, last night it played host to one of the most tasteless, disrespectful spectacles in American history. It was billed as a "gift to the American people". But to watch the event on TV required a subscription to premium streamer Paramount+. The 5,000 seats on the lawn itself were invite-only, for VIPs including Mark Zuckerberg, Tyson Fury and actor Shane Gillis as well as serving military troops - but only if they met a strict bodyweight and appearance standard. They were not available to the American public at any price. Ordinary fans wishing to attend in person would have to watch on big screens on the Ellipse, the park next to the White House, from which Trump gave his infamous January 6th speech in 2021. At the two-day "Fan Fest" on the Ellipse, two things were free: Water and Monster energy drinks. The long-time UFC sponsor was heavily pushing its new "Red, White and Blue Razz" flavour to mark the other "official" reason for the event - America's 250th anniversary. Fans could also queue up to pose for photographs between a bevy of blonde models at the Monster bar.. Nearby a parked up Nascar racer repeatedly did "burnouts", revving so ferociously it created plumes of acrid smoke and there was the opportunity to test your strength on a punchbag, ride a mechanical bull or take photos in a replica of the UFC octagon ring between bouts. Warnings that the event could have been shut down and evacuated due to a nearby "extreme weather" thunderstorm - which frequently lit the sky during the opening fights - thankfully didn't come to pass. I say thankfully because the organisers announced that in case of a forced evacuation the VIPs on the lawn could bunker down in the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building - but us 10,000 or so plebs on the Ellipse would be turfed out and have to fend for ourselves. Earlier in the day, the White House got in a spat with the Weather Channel, who had warned on X that "On top of the storm risk, brutal DC humidity is driving a triple-digit heat index alongside massive swarms of mosquitos and gnats that fighters will have to battle inside the cage." The lightning left us alone. I'll have to let you know about the mosquitos in the morning. The event was in full swing when Trump posted on Truth Social crowing that a preliminary deal had been struck with Iran, and that America's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be lifted. Trump famously has a fondness for violence - but while the fighting has hopefully stopped in the Middle East, there was plenty to occupy his mind in Washington DC. The main event was an ugly affair - a lightweight title fight that saw challenger Justin Gaethje rob champion Ilia Topuria both of his belt and the shape of his face. Both fighters walked to the Octagon from the Oval Office, down a path that Trump - entirely coincidentally I'm sure - tore up and had replaced with shiny new black granite a few weeks ago. It looked great on TV. The warm-up press conference for the weekend took place at the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream speech" - and the surroundings of which Trump recently had refurbished at a cost to taxpayers of $14 million. The White House says UFC's parent company TKO group is meeting the $60 million price tag of the event - but it's unclear whether that includes the cost of the uniformed law enforcement officers who seemed to be providing most of the security at the Fan Fest, the flypasts, the honour guards and military bands used as props in the costly spectacle. And of course, the grifting didn't stop at virtual coins - announcers at the event repeatedly plugged a literal gold coin with Trump's face on it, produced under a license from a company he owns, and on sale in various sizes for up to $12,000. Trump himself bought shares in TKO in March. And while the White House insists he doesn't have control over his stock portfolio, there's no formal arrangement to ensure that's the case. It was an evening of extreme violence, displays of military strength, misuse of government property and manpower, money, people saying how great he is and insulting the Obamas. Even the extremely hot, sweaty weather was reminiscent of his native Florida. A poll last week found just 16% of Americans thought it was appropriate to host the UFC event on the White House lawn. But for Trump, it was the perfect birthday party.