White House Silent on UFC Fighter's Disparaging Comments on Michelle Obama
Hours after a controversial UFC match wrapped up on the White House South Lawn, a new controversy has emerged for the Trump administration. Read on for the details of the incident and why UFC's CEO said that they will never host an event at the White House again.
Fighter's Comments About Michelle Obama Spark Outrage After UFC Event
All eyes were on the White House on Sunday evening as President Donald Trump hosted a major UFC fight on the South Lawn. While the fight was supposed to take center stage as Trump celebrated his 80th birthday, it was the comments made after the evening that grabbed all of the headlines on Monday.
The controversy erupted when UFC fighter Josh Hokit lobbed a false and offensive comment about former first lady Michelle Obama. During his post-fight remarks at the White House, Hokit praised Trump for hosting the event and then added, "And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?"
The comment prompted a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd. This is not the first time that allies of Trump have tried to spread these false remarks. The president was captured on camera smiling briefly after Hokit commented.
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and President Dana White reacted on Monday to the comments from Hokit, calling them "nasty and false." White told Time magazine on Monday that “I understand that the Obamas are public figures, but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families. Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense."
White also confirmed that the UFC will never host an event at the White House again. The company picked up the $60 million tab, a cost that was largely attributed to the massive structure that had to be constructed on the South Lawn. In his comments after the event, White admitted that he will not agree to this location again because he can't afford it, going on to say, “I’ll never do the Sphere again, and we’ll never do this again."
Despite the negativity surrounding Hokit's comments, White was optimistic that the event "created some unity" for the divided country as Americans gear up to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4.
Response From the White House About Disparaging Comments
While White was quick to condemn Hokit's speech, the White House has been quiet on the matter. When pressed by the media, White House communications director Steven Cheung simply said that Hokit “had a great win last night. He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent both on his feet and on the ground.” The White House also did not respond to questions about why they will not criticize the remarks against the Obamas but continue to protect first lady Melania Trump from similar hate speech.
Even some ardent Trump supporters expressed dismay at Hokit's comments. Fox News columnist David Marcus posted on X that “The fighter yelling ‘Michelle Obama is a man,’ at an official White House event to honor America is utterly unacceptable and the administration should [denounce] it in no uncertain terms." Marcus went on to say that he has defended Trump's plan for the celebration of America's 250th birthday, believing that they would be nonpartisan events that would bring the country together. In a followup post, Marcus admitted that he was wrong in thinking that the Trump administration would use the UFC event to celebrate the nation as part of the America 250 plans.
President Trump has a history of ridiculing his predecessor. Earlier this year, the president refused to apologize after he posted a racist video that depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife as apes in the jungle. While Trump deleted the post after it caused an uproar, he continued to assert that he had not seen the last frames of the video that featured the racist content. Instead, Trump blamed a staffer for the slip-up.
Michelle Obama has become known for trying to take the high road when it comes to Trump's comments. In a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the former first lady said, “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.”
The Democratic Party fought back on Monday with a bit of humor. The official X account of the party posted a picture of the former first lady smirking with the caption, “Michelle Obama lives in their heads rent-free.”
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