{"id":3338,"date":"2026-06-14T09:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=3338"},"modified":"2026-06-14T09:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:18:16","slug":"trump-turns-80-with-cage-fight-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=3338","title":{"rendered":"Trump turns 80 with cage fight at the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday in typically forceful style on Sunday, as the oldest US president ever to take office holds a bloody cage match on the White House lawn.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unprecedented \u201cUFC Freedom 250\u201d event will see 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship stars beat each other to a pulp in a giant arena called The Claw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costing $60 million, it\u2019s linked to this year\u2019s festivities for the 250th anniversary of US independence \u2014 but it also happens to fall on the day that Trump enters his ninth decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics have derided the violent extravaganza in America\u2019s most famous backyard, saying it is in poor taste during a war with Iran that has sent prices soaring for ordinary people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump may clinch a long-sought peace deal with Iran on his big day, although Tehran has cast doubt on that timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The billionaire president \u2014 who has deep ties with a sport whose young male fans reflect his own political base \u2014 defended the UFC event as a unique spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is going to be an event you\u2019re really gonna like,\u201d Trump said as he hosted some of the muscle-bound, bare-knuckle fighters in the Oval Office in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House says the UFC is bearing the entire cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari denied blending sport with politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way we look at this is we have an unbelievable, incredibly unique opportunity to celebrate this country and our athletes,\u201d Borsari told a news conference this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u2018Great fighting machine\u2019 \u2013<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a dramatic touch, some of the top fighters taking part in Sunday\u2019s event are reportedly set to emerge from the Oval Office itself before marching out to the historic South Lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fights themselves will take place in the Octagon, an eight-sided wire mesh cage, surrounded by seats for more than 4,000 spectators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UFC combatant Michael Chandler, who is fighting on Sunday, said it was the \u201cbiggest fight event in combat sports history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French fighter Ciryl Gane also said he was focusing on the sporting element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not in politics in any way but we have the opportunity to be exposed to the eyes of the world \u2014 we have to take it,\u201d he told AFP earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be a nod to the 250th celebrations with historical \u201cvignettes\u201d between bouts, Axios reported, and there will also be military bands, a US military flyover and parachute display and a 10-minute fireworks finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: Trump to meet with Middle East leaders, attend Ukraine session at G7, US officials say<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u2018Big flashy show\u2019 \u2013<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another battle has already been won. A US judge on Friday rejected a bid by two local residents to halt the fight on the grounds that the event was corrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s birthday fight has already taken over much of downtown Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fighters are being weighed in outside the Lincoln Memorial, and there\u2019s space for some 125,000 people to watch the event on giant screens on the National Mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The macho spectacle has also distracted from questions about Trump\u2019s health as he turns 80.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump loves to compare his virility to Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, who was forced to drop his bid for a second term after a disastrous debate with the Republican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But from bruised hands to a vein condition in his legs and apparent sleepiness in meetings, Trump has also had a number of issues, even though his doctor says he\u2019s in excellent health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump admitted that he was \u201cnot happy about that birthday that I\u2019m having,\u201d in a video posted by one of his officials this week. \u201cIt\u2019s not a number I like, but I\u2019m here nevertheless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact the former reality TV star will be front and center throughout the gore and glitz, as he always is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s treating the presidency the way he treats his previous career, a big flashy show,\u201d Peter Loge, director of George Washington University\u2019s School of Media, told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his last birthday, Trump oversaw an unprecedented military parade in Washington, marking the 250th anniversary of the US army.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday in typically forceful style on Sunday, as the oldest US president ever to take office holds a bloody cage..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18.jpg",814,404,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18-300x149.jpg",300,149,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18-768x381.jpg",768,381,true],"large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18.jpg",814,404,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18.jpg",814,404,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Capture-18.jpg",814,404,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"World<\/a>","tag_info":"World","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3340,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3338\/revisions\/3340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}