UFC President Dana White knew that President Donald Trump would get a lot of attention while attending UFC 244. And that definitely was the case as he was bombarded with boos from the fans while attending the event in New York City. But the question is how was White able to get Trump to one of the biggest UFC events of the year? White spoke to reporters about Trump and he said it was something he wanted to do since he was elected President of the United States.
“He’s been the most stand-up guy since the day I met him,” White said. “He told me ‘I want to come to a UFC event.”
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White went on to say the two had dinner at the White House last Thursday and Trump said he’s coming to UFC 244.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ That’s going to be a rough one,” White added. “Why don’t we do Vegas on the 14th? He said New York was the only one he could do.”
White also talked about how Trump supported him and the UFC even before he was president.
“Everything that ever happened to me in my career, Trump was the first guy to pick up the phone and reach out to me,” he said.
While there were a number of fans booing Trump at UFC 244, he also got his share of cheers. So in a way, it was nothing really surprising for Trump.
“The Ultimate Fighting Championship folks. Trump is a historically unpopular president,” The Nation’s Jeet Heer wrote on Twitter alongside video of the booing. “He polls at 40% but only half that strongly support him. The vast majority hate him or are defending him only out of partisan reflexiveness.”
After the event, Trump went to Twitter to talk about his experience at UFC 244.
“Walking into Madison Square Garden last night with [Dana White] for the big [UFC] Championship fight was a little bit like walking into a Trump Rally. Plenty of MAGA & KAG present. Great energy. Fantastic job Dana! Heading to D.C. and then to Kentucky for a big [Matt Bevin] rally…” Trump wrote on Sunday morning.
The mixed reactions Trump received from UFC 244 come on the heels of him receiving boos while attending Game Five of the World Series which was in Washington D.C.
