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President Donald Trump<\/strong> announced Thursday that the White House<\/a> will celebrate America\u2019s 250th anniversary with an epic athletic event on its grounds\u2014but the actual sport will have few ties to this country. Unlike hosting a US-originating pastime like baseball<\/a>, basketball<\/a>, or our version of football<\/a>, the president will welcome a mixed martial arts competition, he told a crowd at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Is the president\u2019s embrace of a discipline rooted in Asia and Brazil over a sport from this country another sign that his so-called \u201cAmerica First\u201d<\/a> stance is continuing to soften? Or is he just leaning into a sport he\u2019s familiar with as a longtime casino proprietor?<\/p>\n Details on the event remain scarce. According to multiple news outlets<\/a>, Donald Trump told a Des Moines crowd, \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a UFC fight\u2014think of this\u2014on the grounds of the White House.\u201d That initialism is a reference to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a MMA promotions company now owned by talent-agency-turned-combat-sports conglomerate Endeavor<\/a>, a public company led by big-ticket Democrat donor<\/a> and vocal Kamala Harris<\/strong> supporter<\/a> Ari Emanuel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Of course, Emanuel isn\u2019t who most folks think of, if or when they mull the UFC. That honor goes to Dana White,<\/strong> a longtime Trump hype man<\/a> employed by the fight company as president and CEO (he also reportedly holds a small ownership stake). White, who was caught on tape<\/a> in an alleged domestic violence incident with wife Anne White<\/strong> in 2022, has praised Trump as \u201cthe toughest, most resilient guy I\u2019ve ever met in my life\u201d and \u201cthe legitimate, ultimate American badass of all time,\u201d words that cynics might assume have swayed Trump\u2019s interest in his company.<\/p>\n