UFC president Dana White recently sat down with Yahoo Sports to discuss a range of topics, including his vocal support for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for the U.S. presidency. Trump has been a fixture at UFC pay-per-view events of late, with the UFC arranging specialized walkouts for the former president and highlighting his presence at cageside throughout the broadcast.
This approach has not been without criticism, but White defended the practice and explained his own support for Trump, which has included speaking engagements at the Republican National Convention and various political talk shows on cable news.
On his public support for Trump, including in a recent CNN appearance
Dana White: As far as the talking about politics, everybody knows my long time friendship and history with Donald Trump. Otherwise, you don’t really see me out there being very political or trying to jump on any of these political shows. And even when I do talk on political shows, I’m talking to everybody. I’m not just talking to the right. I’m talking to the right, the left, the independents.
I’m talking to everybody, because when you look at all the bullshit right now that’s involved in politics, I don’t care what side you’re on. We’re all Americans. We all want the same things. We want to make a good living. We want to get a house, we want a car. We want to feel safe in our hometown and definitely in our houses, and we want to take care of our families. No matter what walk of life you’re from what you want, we all want the same things. And what I basically try to say is, cut all the bullshit out. We’re all Americans. I don’t tell anybody how to vote. I don’t tell anybody how to think. I just tell everybody my relationship that I’ve had with this man for 20-something years and who he really is and what type of a person he really is, and what type of people his family are. They’re good people. So that’s really, that’s it for me.
On Trump’s fighter-style walkouts highlighted on UFC broadcasts
DW: It’s true when we do come out, but you see the way the crowd reacts to it? It’s off the charts. Now, if (Joe) Biden came to a UFC event, I would treat Biden the same way. I probably wouldn’t walk, but if Biden was there, we would cover the fact that the President of the United States – or if (Barrack) Obama or (George) Bush or any of those guys ever came to an event – we would treat them with the same respect. A former or standing President of the United States shows up at your event, you show them the respect.
It’s just like the thing that happened with Trump, the assassination attempt. If somebody attempted to assassinate Biden or any of the other former presidents of the United States, I would be f***ing disgusted by it, just like I was with the attempt on Trump’s life. I’m an American and whoever is the president of the United States is my president. You don’t hear me running around yelling, that guy’s not my president. Whoever is the standing or former President of the United States is my president. And they would be treated with the same respect.
On the political divide
DW: When we were at Madison Square Garden, the last time that Trump came to Madison Square Garden, two of the Secret Service details had passed each other, and they had said that Biden’s granddaughter was there and the Secret Service was there with her. I tried to grab her. I tried to have them pull her back to my room to meet her and say, thanks for coming to the event or whatever. But I guess when she heard Trump was coming, she left, which sucks. I would’ve liked to have met her.
But I don’t judge people by their politics, and I don’t play any of those p**** games that people play with politics. I treat everybody with respect. And the UFC, it’s not like, oh, this is a big Republican whatever. These people come to the event and we do our thing. And Trump has been a fan. Since day one, this guy’s been a fan. He showed up. Hey, guess what? When he wasn’t the President of the United States and he came to the (events at Trump casinos in Atlantic City), he was all over that broadcast too. Back in those days when we did them at the Taj (Mahal), no different.
Source Agencies
