New York Post
Joe Rogan urges Trump to ‘stick to the UFC’ after Knicks game: ‘Gonna boo him everywhere else’
Podcaster Joe Rogan urged President Trump to “stick to the UFC” after Knicks fans booed the president at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Right
RealClearPolitics - Homepage
From Marilyn Monroe to UFC Freedom 250
Center Right
Trump isn't the first president to hold an extravaganza on his own major birthday.
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Found 8 stories
Alternet.org
Trump’s Department of Interior won’t turn over pledged money for America 250 event
There's an ongoing feud between the America 250 event and President Donald Trump's administration, and now the Department of the Interior is refusing to turn over pledged money for the "State Fair" event. The Atlantic's Michael Scherer obtained a November 27, 2023, memo showing how enthusiastic the U.S. government was for the Smithsonian-led blockbuster festival that would be free for all to attend. The memo said that the new “Festival of Festivals” would focus on the 250th birthday, with four to six weeks of events that would vary from workshops to displays all to “celebrate the nation’s successes,” “contemplate the consequences of our history” and “commit to advancing our multicultural democracy." Then Trump took control of the event, renamed it the "Great American State Fair" and claimed it would feature exhibits from all 50 states. At least six of the 50 states are backing out of attending the event due to either costs or scheduling conflicts. The event has now fallen into "disarray and conflict," according to documents and interviews done by Scherer. Now the Department of the Interior is refusing to honor its agreement from December, in which it pledged to transfer $50 million in congressional appropriations before Feb. 1. Only $25 million has been delivered, and there doesn't appear to be any more coming. An unsigned statement from the press office at the Department of Interior said, “Spending taxpayer money on frivolous, poorly attended events and D.C. consultants who are trying to get rich off America’s 250th is the exact opposite of what was intended. This administration will not light taxpayer money on fire. Full stop.”"Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed frustration at the breakdown, with one House committee opening its own investigations into the Trump administration’s handling of taxpayer funding for America’s birthday party," wrote Scherer.One commissioner told him, “This is straight out of It’s a Wonderful Life, when Henry Potter steals George Bailey’s money and tries to drive him to the brink. With less than a month away from this historic milestone, there is just no room for politics, and we remain hopeful that cooler heads will prevail."Trump has created his own event called Freedom 250 instead of America 250, while America 250 is a bipartisan effort passed by Congress in 2016 to begin planning the events around the country.“America250 can’t get over the fact that Trump won,” said Trump’s former co–campaign manager Chris LaCivita. He was a top contractor for America 250 until the Trump administration started its own event. “They want to apologize for America’s 250th. We don’t.” The feud became public last month when nearly all of the acts recruited to play at the concert withdrew because didn't want to be part of something overtly partisan. Trump has since said the concert will become a MAGA event he's calling the a “Rally to end all Rallies." Scherer said that the "supporters of America250, which is backed by a bipartisan caucus of 421 federal lawmakers, view this event as further proof that Trump always planned to remake the national celebration in his image."For example, the draft of the Freedom 250 document walks through organizers encouraging Americans to host their own events "around the core America First issue." Those issues include parental rights, free speech and election integrity. Lifelong Republican Cathy Gillespie, who has been an America250 commissioner for eight years, said that she's not sure where the idea came from that the event would apologize for its past. “There is nothing anywhere that validates a claim it has failed in this mission, let alone apologize for our 250th Anniversary," she said. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement that the celebrations “shouldn’t be ruined by people or organizations more concerned with partisanship and apologizing for America than celebrating the greatest nation in history.”But even former top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said, “I have witnessed more collaboration than confrontation, and hope all can operate toward the same goal.”
Left
Washington Examiner
Road closures in DC expected to snarl traffic ahead of UFC fight: What to know
Washington, D.C., is bracing for a weekend of road closures, security checkpoints, and heightened law enforcement presence ahead of UFC’s Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn. The main fight is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday, June 14, with President Donald Trump expected to attend as part of the festivities surrounding his 80th […]
Center Right
Washington Examiner
Inside ‘the claw’: UFC Freedom 250 shows off its White House stage days before big fight
The UFC has given a sneak peek inside “the claw,” the imposing stage set up ahead of a historic fight this weekend on the White House South Lawn. Stepping out of the White House press corridors, one is greeted with a massive, larger-than-life red, white, and blue “UFC FREEDOM 250” medallion fitting of a $60 […]
Center Right
Washington Examiner
Pass the BUILD America 250 Act: Congress begins clearing road for autonomous trucking
In late May, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted 62-2 to advance the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes $580 billion in federal infrastructure investment. The bill moved out of committee with the kind of bipartisan support that has become rare in Washington. For the autonomous vehicle […]
Center Right
BizPac Review
Too much America? Fans torch patriotic outfits at White House UFC event
The next round of criticism from those hating on President Donald Trump’s planned UFC event at the White House focused on the custom outfits to be worn […]
Far Right
Raw Story
Trump DOJ's 'ludicrous' bid to save White House UFC fight torched by expert
The Trump administration's legal arguments for why federal courts should not interfere in the controversial UFC fight set to take place on the White House lawn were derided as ridiculous by former White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen on MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" Wednesday.The match, part of Trump's series of events ostensibly celebrating America's 250th anniversary, has come under fire as an event that Trump has a personal financial stake in and stands to profit massively from. Veterans in Washington, D.C. are currently suing to stop it.Anchor Nicolle Wallace cited the key argument from Justice Department lawyers that "final weight cutting is already underway" for 14 fighters, and a delay "could jeopardize the health of the 14 professional athletes involved in the event."Eisen wasn't having it."First of all, the arguments that they're making are so ludicrous," said Eisen, who also worked on Trump impeachment litigation. "Why is the United States Department of Justice making arguments about these fighters? Would they be healthier if, after losing all that weight, they didn't get into that ring?"Ultimately, he said, the arena being erected next to the White House is "a symbol of the way he's defaced Washington, D.C. It's like a graffiti artist run amok in our city," similar to Trump illegally putting his name on the Kennedy Center. "The ring has to come down the same way.""Donald Trump is in a steel cage match with the American people," Eisen added. "He is battering them in the pocketbook because, as you pointed out, this stuff is not free. When he does his $1.8 billion slush fund, it comes out of all of our pockets. It's the same with all of these outrageous projects, and I think the people are sick of it." - YouTube www.youtube.com
Far Left
Reason.com
Why Are Republicans and Democrats Abandoning Economic Freedom?
"It's really important that people step back, look at economic history," says economist Donald Boudreaux. "They'll see that we prosper more the more economically free we are."
Center Right