Sunday night on the South Lawn of the White House saw two very distinct types of action: Combat happening inside the cage, and corporate politicking happening outside of it.
Inside the UFC octagon, mixed martial artists jabbed and kicked each other, resulting in spectacular knockouts from the likes of Sean O’Malley and Justin Gaethje.
Just outside the cage, however, President Trump held post, where a stream of tech titans, media moguls and other power-players sought a few minutes of his time (and perhaps to wish him a happy 80th birthday). The Hollywood Reporter was in attendance for the proceedings, a highbrow-lowbrow merger of capitalism, politics and U.S. government assets unlike anything ever seen before.
The event was UFC Freedom 250, a $60 million made-for-TV spectacle sparked by a suggestion from Trump, and executed by his friend, the UFC CEO Dana White. White and Trump sat cage-side, directly next to WME executive chairman and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, who Trump immediately greeted when he took his seat at the start of the night.
Emanuel and White served as VIP shepherds at times, bringing dignitaries over to talk to Trump when the action was quiet in the octagon, and commercials were rolling for viewers on TV.
