President Donald Trump is set to host a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, a move that has been met with criticism from some commentators. The event, UFC Freedom 250, is scheduled for Sunday night and will feature a custom-built Octagon, large video screens, and a structure known as ‘The Claw.’

Criticism from Commentators

MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart and columnist David Brooks have spoken out against the event, with Brooks comparing it to the artists former President John F. Kennedy once brought to the White House. ‘It was like W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein. And now we have got cage fighting. Don’t anybody say America’s in cultural decline,’ Brooks said. Capehart argued that the event was ‘degrading’ and that the setting and visible sponsorship inside the ring changed the nature of the event.

Capehart also noted that the president’s decision to host the event was significant because it was not simply a private sports production, but one being elevated by the president at the White House. ‘Whenever a president invites someone from the culture into the White House, it’s giving the imprimatur of the president,’ Capehart said.

Political Implications

Brooks suggested that Trump could benefit politically from elite criticism of the event, telling PBS co-anchor Geoff Bennett that the reaction could help the president frame himself as aligned with fight fans who feel looked down upon. ‘He wants us to be talking this way because he’s saying, look, you get looked down upon by people. I believe in cage fighting just like you,’ Brooks said.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.