Jun.09

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

UFC White House Event Well on Its Way to Being Another Boondoggle

Donald Trump did indeed attend last night's New York Knicks-San Antonio Spurs game, hoping to improve his political standing by being seen as a "man of the people." That was a longshot, even under the best of circumstances. And we don't think the gamble paid off. Some of the reasons why:

1. Wait times to get into the game, given the extensive security precautions, sometimes exceeded 3 hours.
   
   
2. The streets around Madison Square Garden were shut down, wrecking traffic patterns in the vicinity.
   
   
3. The viewing party scheduled for the area outside of Madison Square Garden, which would have allowed fans who cannot afford $5,000/ticket to be a part of the fun, was canceled. Fans were redirected to the Central Park viewing party, but the remaining slots for that one were limited and were soon snapped up.
   
   
4. Trump did indeed try to hide himself by sitting in James Dolan's owners' box. It did not work; when they showed the President on the big screen during the National Anthem he was booed very loudly:
   
   
   
   
5. At the viewing party in Central Park the booing was even louder. There may also have been certain other expressions of the fans'... pique visible.
   
   
6. Trump fell asleep during the game, making it seem like he wasn't terribly interested in what was happening on court.
   
   
7. The Knicks lost for the first time in 14 games and 46 days, leading some sizable number of fans to blame Trump for jinxing the team. This is not rational but, last we checked, the Constitution contains no requirement that voters be rational.
   
   
8. The social media mockery has already begun. For example, there was a tweet circulating widely last night that included the footage of Trump being booed, and added the observation that Knicks fans don't like him because "He's been rooting for the Spurs since Vietnam." Ouch.

Again, we don't think that showing up for a basketball game where you're going to be a huge distraction could ever work out well for a president. Certainly, it does not seem to have worked out this time.

Assuming Trump is clever enough to take a pass on any more NBA Finals games, his next attempt at sportswashing, and his next likely disaster, is right around the corner (probably). We speak, of course, of the UFC fight scheduled for the front lawn of the White House this Sunday, which is Flag Day and is also Trump's 80th birthday. This is a very obvious attempt to get young men interested in the Trump administration again, after poll after poll has shown them drifting away. Let's run down half a dozen bad signs for the administration:

1. Lightning, Bugs: The structure that has been built for the event is a godawaful eyesore (see below for a picture). If there was rain on Sunday, which is hardly unknown for Washington in summer, then lightning would have been a major problem, at risk of electrocuting either fighters or audience members. Instead, the weather is projected to be 92 degrees and very humid—not too pleasant for either the fighters or the crowd. Oh, and people who know Washington say that there is going to be a different type of rain: bugs will be out in force, will fly into the lights, and people will end up with bug parts in their hair, on their clothes, etc.
   
   
2. Pretty Gay: If there's one thing that Trump tries to sell to young men, it's "macho." Quite a few folks, among them the staff at The Advocate, have pointed out that if you have sweaty, half-naked men grabbing at each other right in the middle of Pride Month... well, that's a lot of gay subtext. There is also a campaign—we'll see what comes of it—for gay men to buy up all the seats in the audience, and to show up rocking their rainbow gear.
   
   
3. Lawsuit: A consortium of activist groups filed a lawsuit over the weekend, arguing that the event is illegal. When we first heard about this suit, we thought it was a longshot, since presidents are undoubtedly allowed to organize banquets, egg rolls and other entertainments on the White House lawn. And it may still be a longshot, because time is running short. However, the argument is actually pretty sound. The suit asserts (correctly) that the event is not being organized by the administration, but by a private concern, namely Freedom 250. More importantly, the suit points out (again correctly), that Trump bought stock in UFC's parent company shortly before announcing the event, and that he is using the fight to help sell $1 million/plate tickets to a fundraiser on Saturday night.
   
   
4. Unrealistic Expectations: UFC CEO and promoter, and friend-of-Trump Dana White declared over the weekend that the event would do "Super Bowl numbers." Even a below-average Super Bowl, these days, pulls in 120+ million viewers. Heck, even the very first Super Bowl, when the game did not even have that name, drew 51+ million. By contrast, UFC's record for viewership for any event is 8.8 million. Oh, and the fight will be streamed on Paramount+, which has fewer than 90 million subscribers.
   
   
5. Joe Rogan: If anyone is a spokesperson for the "bros" that Trump is trying to reach with this event, it's podcaster Joe Rogan. Rogan is not only a UFC fan, he works for the promotion as a commentator. And he says he does not like the event, in part because it's "gimmicky" and in part because he thinks outdoor fights are of poor quality.
   
   
6. The Cool Kids: Just as the artists that people might actually want to see have no interest in the Freedom 250 Concert(s), the celebrities that might give the UFC event some reflected glory have no interest in attending. Reportedly, actor and comedian Adam Sandler, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, former NFL star Tom Brady, Oscar winner Jared Leto, actor Jason Statham, actor and former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, director Jon Favreau and TV host Mario Lopez have all declined invites. When you get to Mario Lopez in your Rolodex, and even he says "no," you know you've got trouble.

Again, we're not seeing many good omens here. What we do foresee is fertile ground for another wave of Trump-mocking memes. Indeed, in support of that guess, we're going to let Hillary Clinton have the last word here:

That take is even more scorching hot than it's going to be at the White House on Sunday. (Z)