Donald Trump has recruited his daughter, Ivanka, to assist in organizing the White House’s ambitious UFC event alongside company head Dana White.
The U.S. President is pushing forward with his controversial plans to host a show within the ‘Executive Mansion’ next July as part of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence celebrations, with big names like Conor McGregor already expressing interest in participating.
Despite some critics labeling Trump’s plan as “embarrassing,” White shared a video of the President making the announcement on social media, captioning his post: “This will be epic.” It comes after Joe Rogan, the UFC commentator, highlighted the problem with a “crazy” Trump policy.
He is now set to collaborate with the 79-year-old’s daughter to make it happen. Ivanka had chosen to stay out of politics during her father’s second term in the Oval Office, after serving as a full-time adviser during his first term from 2017 to 2021, but is now returning to help with his ambitious UFC event plans.
On Monday, UFC chief White disclosed that the 43-year-old, who confessed earlier this year that she “hates politics,” is part of his team moving forward after approving the event.
“I feel really good about how that’s progressing,” White told Front Office Sports. “We’re actually heading (to Washington) at the end of August for meetings about it. Ivanka is also involved in this.
“We’ll be making a presentation and then will look to hear back about what they like about it and don’t like.”
White also said the event is likely to be broadcast on CBS. According to the White House website, Ivanka is an “adviser” to her father, “focusing on the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training and entrepreneurship.”
Now, she is poised to help orchestrate one of the most significant events in UFC history as the promotion prepares to take center stage on White House grounds, with some of the sport’s biggest names potentially set to compete.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. Dana’s going to do it,” Trump declared at a rally in Iowa last month.
Trump is well-acquainted with the UFC, having been regularly seen at numerous events in recent years. Having developed a close relationship with company president White, the commander-in-chief has now secured bold plans to bring the action directly to his doorstep.
Trump, however, may face an uncomfortable situation with MMA fighter Belal Muhammed regarding the Independence Day event. Muhammed would be an ideal candidate to headline the card, yet the highly-ranked American UFC competitor’s parents hail from Palestine.
Before his UFC 315 bout, Muhammad didn’t hold back on expressing his views about President Trump on social media. The 36-year-old fighter labeled the U.S. leader as “pure evil” following his declaration of plans for the U.S. to seize control of the Gaza Strip.