Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump is hyping a high-profile fight night on the White House lawn as the “hottest ticket” in town, drawing intense interest from donors, lawmakers, and well-connected insiders eager to secure a seat.The event, dubbed UFC Freedom 250, is slated for June 14—coinciding with Trump’s birthday and Flag Day—as part of the lead-up to America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations. Despite juggling tensions with Iran and rising domestic fuel prices, Trump has appeared energised by the spectacle surrounding the event, Axios reported.
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There were to be 5,000 VIP seats around the UFC’s Octagon on the White House South Lawn, but many of those tickets were expected to go to military personnel, leaving perhaps only a couple of thousand, and far fewer cage-side, for well-connected attendees.Top lobbyists and White House-connected operatives were inundated with requests, sources said. One of them told Axios they were sick of being asked about the fight.
Republicans began flooding the White House with inquiries about VIP tickets almost immediately after the event was announced last summer. One senator asked to attend with their family. A GOP fundraiser close to the White House received dozens of direct messages on social media asking how they could get in. Trump himself fielded ticket requests, a person familiar with the event preparation said.UFC CEO Dana White announced last week that 85,000 tickets would be given away to the public for an outdoor viewing experience with big video screens on the Ellipse, just south of the White House grounds.Six UFC fights were to be held at the event, which was to be streamed on Paramount+. The fight card was to be headlined by a lightweight bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje. White met Trump every few months to discuss plans for the event.Organisers said they were still determining how the VIP tickets on the South Lawn would be distributed.“It’s all very fluid,” a Trump aide said.Republican operatives predicted that big donors to Trump’s ballroom project, his allied super PAC and his inaugural committee almost certainly would get a crack at seats, along with Trump’s closest Capitol Hill allies and his longtime close friends. However, one person familiar with the planning warned that some of those jockeying for seats were likely to come away disappointed.It “feels like people are willing to brawl to secure a seat!” Rob Lockwood, a former top aide to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, told Axios in a text message.
