President Donald Trump is marking America’s 250th birthday, but also a milestone of his own, as he hosts a cage match of herculean proportions at the White House this Sunday.The event, a UFC fight that cost an estimated $60 million and will gather 4,300 guests in a makeshift Octagon arena on the South Lawn, will coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday. And he’s celebrating it with a fanfare his predecessor did not. Joe Biden, the first octogenarian president, remained out of the limelight and held a subdued brunch instead when he turned 80 in 2022.Trump’s preference for flashy, attention-grabbing events is one of the stylistic differences between the two men. Last year, Trump presided over a military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary — also coinciding with his turning 79.
But it’s also one of the ways he’s kept criticism regarding his age at bay, staying in the public spotlight and projecting an image of strength and vitality that Biden failed to do during his four years in the Oval Office.
Polling captures concerns related to Trump’s age, with an Ipsos poll last month finding that a majority of respondents, 59%, do not consider him to have the “mental sharpness” to be effective as president. Fifty-five percent said he is not “in good enough physical health to serve effectively as president.”
