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 donāt understand anyone who canāt admire that.
And as for the people who attended, I, for one, love Shane Gillis. I think heās hilarious and brilliant. It was a show. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. I canāt 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 Peopleās House. This ācelebrationā could have happened in any stadium within a stoneās throw of the South Lawn. No one would have had an issue with it.
But that was obviously Donald Trumpās whole point. By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is:
āThis is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. Iāll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze. Iāll tear down the East Wing. Iāll pave over the Rose Garden. Iāll cover everything in gold and marble. Iāll erase the names of all the men who came before me.ā
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.
Ezra Klein and Bret Stephens among others being in a super secret society by Peter Thiel is all the more proof that America doesn't actually have journalism anymore.
Trump walked into a room full of European leaders and announced, āIām the boss.ā
That is not dominance. That is insecurity with a microphone.
A real boss does not need to narrate his own authority. The room already knows.
When a man has to declare himself the boss, he is usually telling you the opposite: the myth has faded, the aura is gone, and everyone can see it but him.
Hey @jimmyfallon , did you do any research at all on what this violent thug does when heās back in Ireland? Or is it ok to platform adjudicated violent sexual offenders now? Shame on you.
Disgraceful interview of Conor McGregor by @jimmyfallon.
McGregor is a rapist.
Fallon ignores the civil jury finding of rape.
He asks the rapist if he'd have advice for his younger self but McGregor doesn't say he'd do less raping.
https://t.co/Fh4bix92VW
So glad the boy is okay! ICE agents are still raping and killing people inside detention centers. There is no propaganda in the world that will hide the fact that they are the modern-day Gestapo and deserve to rot in hell.
justifying shooting a one year old and the police being judge, jury, and executioner is a level of insanity that should get you 5150ād bootlicking psycho
Imagine killing a baby because you assumed the mother stole a pack of diapers, only to learn she paid for them. How do you justify that level of anti-Blackness? This is what happens when suspicion is weaponized against Black people.