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.
The GOP swears they’d “never cut” Social Security— Sen. Mike Lee is on tape saying he wants to pull it “up by the roots & get rid of it entirely.”
Believe their words—this has always been THE PLAN.
They’re stealing our MONEY.
VOTE—It’s our FUTURE! #HandsOffSocialSecurity
I'm going to KEEP talking about how Florida Senator Rick Scott, the RICHEST man in all of Congress DEFRAUDED Medicare & is trying to CUT Social Security.
Will you join me?🤚
Every single one of these men are still walking the streets and the halls of the White House. When are they going to investigated and brought to Justice if they’re found guilty!
Oversight and Judiciary Dems visited Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison today, it is essentially a pristine park with fountains and ample green space. She’s the only convicted sex offender there. Why did @DAGToddBlanche move her here? This isn’t justice.
JUST IN: Reporter Catherine Herridge testifies that CBS News locked her out of the building and seized all her files, says she was working with sources to "expose government corruption."
Nothing at all going on here, folks.
"CBS News’ decision to seize my reporting records crossed a red line that I believe should never be crossed by any media organization."
"Multiple sources said they were concerned that by working with me to expose government corruption and misconduct they would be identified and exposed."
"CBS News locked me out of the building and seized hundreds of pages of my reporting files, including confidential source information."
FOLLOW ME, THE NEXT DROP WILL BE SHOCKING.