To understand Trump, look to the arena
From cage fights at the White House to crowd censorship at the US Open, Trump’s sports appearances are a contest of power, loyalty, and spectacle.
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Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full when Donald Trump stepped outside his luxury box to wave at the crowd, drawing a mixture of boos and cheers. For those watching the ABC Television broadcast, however, the crowd reaction was nonexistent.
This was by design.
An internal email sent by the US Tennis Association (USTA) leadership to US Open broadcasters, obtained by
’s Bounces, requested that broadcasters censor any possible protests or other reactions to Trump’s presence. Instead, Trump was shown standing in salute during the national anthem.The USTA email instructing broadcasters to insulate Trump from negative crowd responses underscores the intricacies of Trump’s stagecraft, including the role that sports organizations play in upholding that stagecraft.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has made sports a central pillar of his agenda. Within weeks, he issued an executive order barring transgender women and girls from female sports. He pressured the Washington Commanders to restore their former ‘Redskins’ name despite its racist legacy. And he has staged himself as a fixture at major spectacles—from the Super Bowl and FIFA Club World Cup final to orchestrated UFC walkouts before roaring crowds.
This hasn’t escaped the notice of politicians, sports executives, and every shameless sycophant with a skybox seat. In March 2025, Finnish President Alexander Stubb secured rare face time with Trump over a seven-hour round of golf at Mar-a-Lago. Unlike other European leaders who have struggled to win Trump’s ear, Stubb drew on his background as a competitive golfer to build rapport and open lines of communication. Days later, Trump floated plans to purchase ‘a large number’ of Finnish icebreakers—a move that could bolster Finland’s defense industry and its role in U.S. Arctic policy.
Then there is Louisiana governor Jeff Landry, who funnelled $7 million budget from taxpayer funds to lure the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour to New Orleans. Trump, who endorsed Landry’s gubernatorial campaign, also happens to be a fan of LIV Golf, and one of his golf courses, the Trump National Doral in Miami, hosts one of its events.
Even Trump’s US Open appearance was likely diplomatic in nature. As reported by Rothenberg in a separate article, Trump was invited to attend the final by Rolex, the luxury Swiss watch maker that sponsors the event among other tennis tournaments and athletes. While Rolex has not publicly commented on the invitation, it is likely that the brand was attempting to lobby Trump to lower tariffs on Switzerland, which was hit with the highest tariffs of any developed economy in July 2025. The Swiss government has since failed to negotiate a lower tariff rate following two rounds of talks.
Could Rolex succeed where the Swiss government failed? Stranger things have happened in Trump’s America.
For example, here is what is being planned for the UFC event at the White House next year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, fighter weigh-ins and a press conference are set for the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, fighters will warm up at the White House, and fan events will take place on the National Mall, including “bags for tourists to test their skills.”
“This will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director who once worked as the UFC’s director of public relations, said.
Over the past few years, Trump has frequently attended UFC events, basking in the admiration of the young, predominantly male crowd. He has cultivated relationships with fighters, leveraging their support to portray himself as a symbolic strongman. He has embraced the UFC’s culture of defiance, machismo and spectacle to help buttress his image as a rebel against liberal norms. It has also hastened the replacement of America’s conventional political culture with an abrasive new blend of entertainment and confrontational politics, perfectly embodied by both Trump and White.
The UFC CEO stumped for Trump at three Republican national conventions and a slew of campaign rallies over the past eight years. He traveled with the president on Air Force One and produced a propaganda documentary on Trump entitled Combatant-in-Chief. And when Trump won the 2024 presidential election, it was White who took the stage at his victory party – because, naturally, Trump needed his fight promoter to seal the deal.
Unsurprisingly, the UFC and its executives have been rewarded for their toadying. CEO Dana White joined Meta’s board of directors in a bid to boost Mark Zuckerberg’s standing with Trump. Khamzat Chimaev—the UFC superstar and Ramzan Kadyrov’s pet fighter—credited Trump for lifting his ban from entering the US. And last month, Skydance’s Paramount secured UFC rights in a $7.7 billion deal. The deal came on the heels of a cageside meeting at a UFC event between Trump, Paramount boss David Ellison, and UFC owner Ari Emanuel—an encounter that likely smoothed the FCC’s approval of Skydance’s $8 billion Paramount acquisition. Two weeks later, the UFC signed its own deal with Paramount.
It’s textbook cronyism in the Trump-era: corporate favors, regulatory green lights, and billion-dollar deals flowing to those willing to play along.
Trump’s sports appearances reveal how he treats politics as a contest of power, loyalty, and spectacle. The UFC White House event, which has been rescheduled from July 4th, 2026 to sometime in June, will likely coincide with the start of 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is another major sports spectacle that Trump can use to project his “America First” ideology.
This December, Trump is expected to attend the World Cup draw along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, the capital’s premier arts and culture venue that is undergoing a hostile takeover by the Trump administration The president inserted himself as the center’s chairman and appointed his longtime loyalist Richard Grenell as interim executive director. Sports Politika readers will also know Grenell as the political operative who helped secure a US visa for a Moroccan UFC fighter and convicted felon closely connected to the king of Morocco.
Meanwhile, the center could also be renamed in Trump’s honour after a bill was introduced in Congress to rename the building the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.
Naturally, the bill is being called the "Make Entertainment Great Again Act.”
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