IN WASHINGTON DC – For a man who regularly nods off during official government meetings, President Donald Trump was at pains on Sunday to prove to the nation that on his 80th birthday, there are still events for which he has no trouble staying awake.
It was 1.30am in Washington by the time the octogenarian walked back inside the White House after a very long and loud night of celebrations. At their centre was the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts contest that the President helmed in “The Claw”, a giant purpose-built stadium on the South Lawn where just weeks ago King Charles III was officially welcomed to the United States.
You did not need to be present to join the party. As late as 11.34pm, a B-1 bomber screamed across the White House, flying in from the south. It was the second fly-past of the night, following a 12-jet display that occurred five hours earlier as the President arrived at the venue.
In an early-to-bed town like Washington, you found yourself marking his birthday whether you wanted to or not.
Trump spent the evening in the company of cage fighters whose achievements in the ring he follows closely. He is, after all, an investor in TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC. Meanwhile, the man who recently claimed to have found negotiations with Iran “boring”, left it to his deputy to provide the country with details about the ceasefire extension agreement that has been finalised and is expected to be signed on Friday.
