Trump's birthday activities include peace talks with Iran, a family dinner at the White House and watching a UFC fight.Show Caption
A family dinner, calls from well-wishers, an evening show – President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday is in some ways typical for a milestone celebration, with a few big twists.Trump also spent his first day as an octogenarian Sunday, June 14 trying to land a peace deal with Iran, and his after-dinner entertainment of a mixed martial arts cage match is one of the more unusual events in White House history.Trump is just the second president to reach 80 in office, and his birthday comes amid questions about his health. For a president who has long sought to project strength, a birthday highlighting his advanced age isn’t something he has been eager to dwell on."You don't have to wish me happy birthday because I'm not happy about that birthday that I'm having," Trump told Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, recently in the Oval Office. "That's a number that I never thought really too much about. It's not a number I like, but I'm here, nevertheless."The birthday wishes poured in anyway. Top Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers took to social media to congratulate the president. Russian President Vladmir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both talked to Trump on his birthday.The calls were a reminder of Trump’s failed efforts to bring the Ukraine war to an end, but the president was focused on a different conflict Sunday that also has proven tricky to wind down.Trump’s birthday began with a new round of Israeli military strikes in Beirut, which the country said was in response to projectiles fired by the militant group Hezbollah at Israel.Israel’s escalation in Lebanon threated to derail Trump’s effort to reach a peace deal with Tehran, and the president took to social media to condemn the strikes."This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!" Trump said.The push to get a peace deal signed Sunday came as Trump was planning to celebrate his birthday later in the evening with a family dinner at the White House before taking in an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.The South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a makeshift UFC arena, including seating for thousands and an octagon fighting ring with a roughly 90-foot-tall "claw" built over it.Trump has been hyping the event for months, bringing fighters into the Oval Office and displaying the UFC championship belt on his desk."These are real warriors," Trump said of the UFC fighters during a May 6 White House event. "When we talk about warriors, these are warriors."Trump’s own fitness has been in the spotlight lately amid scrutiny of his health, including bruising on his hands, swelling in his legs and a habit of closing his eyes for stretches during public events, making it appear to some he was dozing.Trump and his doctors say he’s in good shape, though. Capt. Sean Barbabella, the White House physician, wrote in summarizing the results of last month's physical that Trump "is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.""I feel the same as I felt 50 years ago," Trump said May 4 at a White House event. "I'm not a senior. I'm far younger than a senior."Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Joey Garrison
