Dear Joe,
I wish I could sit down with you face to face and explain why so many of us were offended by the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House.
For me, it had nothing to do with the UFC or who showed up for the fights. The brand you and Dana have built is a bona fide American success story. More power to you. As for the fighters, in my book, anyone brave enough to put it all on the line in the arena is remarkable to witness. Their dedication and discipline inspire me. I don’t understand anyone who can’t admire that.
And as for the people who attended, I, for one, love Shane Gillis. I think he’s hilarious and brilliant. It was a show. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to witness it firsthand.
My problem is that I believe some of our public spaces are sacred. And unlike many of the great powers that came before us, these American monuments belong to all of us. Not to whoever happens to hold power at the moment.
The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any President. It belongs to the people. To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.
This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants. The White House is the People’s House. This “celebration” could have happened in any stadium within a stone’s throw of the South Lawn. No one would have had an issue with it.
But that was obviously Donald Trump’s whole point. By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is:
“This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze. I’ll tear down the East Wing. I’ll pave over the Rose Garden. I’ll cover everything in gold and marble. I’ll erase the names of all the men who came before me.”
The fights were an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.
The White House is not Buckingham Palace. It is not the Palace of Versailles. It is not the Forbidden City of Beijing. It does not belong to an emperor, or a king, or a commissar.
The White House belongs to us. All of us. The person who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is nothing more than an honored guest. A temporary caretaker.
The President is our servant. Not our Caesar.
Respectfully, Hunter
P.S. Cage match between me and Don Jr.? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.
MAJOR BREAKING: In a now deleted post by former MMA fighter Daniel Cormier, he posted screenshots of Eric Trump trying to get an insider scoop on whether any of the MMA fights at the White House are rigged so that he could try and illegally make money off of them..
Below is the Direct Messages that Trump allegedly sent Cormier. There is no reason to doubt the legitimacy of these messages.
Mia Khalifa breaks down in tears talking about the war in the Middle East. This is extremely powerful.
FYI @miakhalifa is a Lebanese-American.
When will the killing of innocent people end? We are better than this as humans.
While the world focuses on the destruction in Iran, we must not ignore what Israel is doing in Lebanon.
1,461 have been killed.
4,430 have been injured.
1.2 million have been displaced.
Israel now occupies 14% of Lebanon.
Enough is enough. No more US military aid to Israel.
This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted.
To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat.
But you did Alex... You and many others did vote for him @RealAlexJones... Pretty certain he gonna TACO though... Cause if he doesn't, China, Russia, India, Europe, the whole world gonna... take notice... #TacoTuesday#tacopoderoso
🚨🚨WAR CRIME ALERT!!🚨🚨- Trump on Iran: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.
The definition of genocide is destroying an entire civilization/people!
Trump literally sounds like an unhinged super villain from a Marvel comic movie.
This IS NOT WHAT WE VOTED FOR!!!