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.
Dear Chris,
I can start by telling you who my audience is not.
It is NOT you.
It is NOT the pundit class that rarely leaves the safety of its Georgetown cocktail parties.
It is NOT the chattering class who gets paid to pretend it knows the mind of the American people.
It is NOT for anyone who looks at everything through the lens of politics.
The people I am talking to are tired of the bullshit.
The people I want to speak with are the 50 million Americans still sick and suffering. The families fighting for the lives of the those they love.
Whether they are people living in the shame and fear of being canceled, or consumed by grief after the loss of someone they love, they are just looking for a slight glimmer of hope that they too can get back up again.
My audience is the people who feel unheard, unseen, and uninvited, just like me.
My audience also includes my perceived enemies, those pitted against me by you and your colleagues in the media. I want to meet them where they are and help build a bridge. A bridge built of that which connects all of us. That’s where we begin to actually heal.
And it’s not as if my intent is difficult to understand or discern. Just read and listen to what I have said on this platform, and the 18+ hours of unscripted pod casts I have done.
I think your shock as to why anyone would care says far more about you than it does about me. Take a look at the comments to your post.
And I also know this: people are tired of the bullshit. They’re tired of you and the chattering classes’ obsession with my family as Rome burns.
So instead of wondering why people care about what I have to say, Chris, maybe you should concern yourself with why no one cares anymore about what you and everyone you represent has to say.
Things most Americans agree on:
Groceries cost too much.
Tariffs suck and make no sense.
Congress and Presidents shouldn’t trade stocks.
The debt is a mess.
The border should be secure, but legal immigration is good.
Endless wars are stupid, especially ones that nobody wants and have never been explained.
Americans are exhausted.
AI is like my new best friend that also might be trying to take my job, my ability to think for myself, and my humanity in the process. Yo like I love you, but WTF, but I still love you.
Diversity is actually awesome! The opposite is boring AF.
Canadians are super fucking cool.
Mexicans are chill.
Putin isn’t a good guy looking out for America’s best interest. Rocky IV and Miracle are great movies.
Good neighbors are a blessing.
Freedom of religion and coexistence without having to blow each other up is probably a good idea.
We all question, are we alone in the universe?
We all fuck up along the way.
Epstein didn’t hang himself.
The Trumps and Epstein were best friends for decades. It’s like Bert trying to tell us Ernie was just an acquaintance in the same social scene on Sesame Street back in the day.
The Cowboys suck. Go Birds!
Things we’re told to fight about:
Me.
Laptop.
Vaccines.
Transgenders in sports.
Pronouns.
That’s the joke.
You could start by walking down the hall. See why your boss keeps pardoning people convicted of money laundering, wire fraud, tax evasion, and securities fraud.
Today’s Supreme Court ruling guts the Voting Rights Act and turns back the clock on the foundational promise of equality and fairness in our election systems.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was one of the last remaining federal protections for Black and brown voters against maps deliberately drawn to dilute their political power. That protection has been stripped away.
It is an outrage. But it is not a surprise.
It is part of an agenda that conservatives set in place decades ago to steal power from everyday people and then cling to that power for generations.
The court’s decision is motivated by politics and designed to give an upper hand to Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which faces the threat of losing the upcoming midterm elections.
We must pay attention to what happens next.
The fight now returns to the states. Legislatures — particularly those in the South — will rush to redraw districts before voting for the midterms begins in just a few months. Already, Louisiana and Florida are planning to redraw their maps, and we should not be surprised if others rapidly follow suit ahead of the midterms and 2028. Their politically-motivated power grab is meant to protect elected Republicans from any consequences for their failure to make groceries, gas, health care, or housing more affordable for you and your family. They want to cheat and choose their voters, instead of the voters deciding who they choose.
The mission before us is to restore the power of the people. There is no question our fight became harder today, but I know we are up for the battle.
Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of “partisanship” rather than explicit “racial bias.” And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach.
The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers - not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.
However you've lined up politically in the past, if you're worried about where our country is headed, you belong in this conversation.
Here are my full opening remarks from last night in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thankful to the people of Oklahoma for such a warm welcome back.
Virginia, if you haven’t done it already, make a plan to vote YES on the redistricting referendum.
You can vote early by April 18 or on Election Day, April 21. Find your polling place at https://t.co/vsawTNnoax.
If you paid even a penny in federal income tax last year, you paid more than:
Tesla
Southwest
Disney
Live Nation
HP
United
PayPal
CVS Health
Palantir
Citigroup
PG&E
3M
That's right. They paid $0 in federal income tax.
It's time for big corporations to pay their fair share.
A wealth tax on the top .15% of the richest families would generate $6.2 trillion in revenue.
That could pay for:
Universal childcare
Millions of new homes
Slashing child poverty
Medicare for people aged 55+
Universal paid family leave
Tuition-free community college
And more.
Trump is now attacking the Pope for speaking out against war while posting images of himself as a messianic figure.
This is not only offensive. It is deranged, egomaniacal behavior.
When will Republicans in Congress stop blindly following this dangerous and unhinged man?
BREAKING: There has never been a better time to retweet this video of six brave lawmakers reminding the men and women in our military to REFUSE UNLAWFUL ORDERS from Trump.
Let’s make this go viral again.
NEW — While national attention is on Iran, Democrats are winning big across the country tonight.
🟦 Wisconsin: Blowout flip in State Supreme Court
🟦 Georgia: 23 point overperformance in GA-14
🟦 Missouri: Mayoral win + school board flip
🟦 Oklahoma: Flip seat in 27 point win