By
Margaret Hartmann,
senior editor for Intelligencer who has worked at New York since 2012
Unlike when President Trump demolished the East Wing to start building his White House ballroom, the construction of a massive UFC arena on the South Lawn comes as no surprise. UFC CEO Dana White showed off the plans during a Fox News interview last September, well before the June 14 “UFC Freedom 250” even had a name.
But the various firework-strewn renderings did not prepare people for the sight of a massive UFC lighting grid, nicknamed “the Claw,” towering over the White House in real life. As construction of the flag-covered arena began last month, early reviews called it “tacky” and Trump’s foes used a viral overhead photo of the giant arches next to the East Wing rubble to taunt him:
