Dana White on Trump, men and UFC at the White House | NPR's Newsmakers
5/18/202625 min
In this special episode of Up First, we’re sharing the latest episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, featuring UFC president Dana White.
When Donald Trump celebrated his imminent return to the White House on election night in November 2024, a parade of high-profile supporters joined him on stage. They included White, the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the multibillion-dollar mixed martial arts organization. White calls Trump "a friend." This June 14, UFC will host a fight on the South Lawn of the White House -- commemorating the nation's 250th birthday. That day happens to be President Trump's birthday, too.
White sat down with Steve Inskeep to discuss the growth and success of UFC, political polarization, and masculinity in the Trump era.
NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. New episodes drop as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. To stay caught up, follow the show on Spotify, subscribe on YouTube, or find Newsmakers on the NPR app.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSteve Inskeep· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hi, it's Steve Inskeep with a special episode from our sister show, NPR's Newsmakers. We interview some of the most influential people of our time, and today, we hear from Dana White, president of the UFC and a prominent supporter of President Trump. New episodes of Newsmakers can drop anytime as soon as they're available, so the best way to stay caught up is to follow or subscribe to this show on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen. You can also find us in the NPR app. And now, here's Dana White on NPR's Newsmakers. [upbeat music] Dana White is the head of the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts, often brutal sport that he's built into a multi-billion dollar business. On June 14th, Dana White will stage an event at the White House for his friend and frequent supporter, President Trump. And we talked about that here in Newark, New Jersey, before a UFC event. Dana White, thanks for welcoming us here. This is an amazing event.
Dana White· Guest1:05
Thanks for coming.
Steve Inskeep· Host1:06
It's great to see. Um, we were just watching your press conference at, here in Newark, New Jersey, where you introduced some of the fighters who are gonna fight at the White House- Right ... June 14th. What does that event mean for you and for the UFC?
Dana White· Guest1:16
Well, if you look at our humble beginnings and where we come, [chuckles] came from, meaning that when we bought the company in January of 2001, we weren't even allowed on pay-per-view. Venues didn't want us and, and many other negative things,