Donald Trump built his biggest political coalition yet to win the Presidential election.
But one of his friends on the journey is taking a step back.
And Donald Trump was shocked when this top ally was done with politics for good.
UFC President Dana White is done with politics after Trump’s victory
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has been a longtime friend and ally of President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump helped the UFC during its start by hosting events at his casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, when the sport was still considered a dangerous outlaw event.
White struck up a friendship with the President-elect then and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention (RNC) on his behalf.
He introduced Trump before his speech at the RNC this year in Milwaukee.
White said in an interview with the New Yorker that he was done with politics after Trump won the election.
“I’m never f***ing doing this again,” White said. “I want nothing to do with this s***. It’s gross. It’s disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics.”
Trump has received thunderous applause whenever he attends a UFC event with White.
The President-elect, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), Vivek Ramaswamy, and Director of Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard, and White had ringside seats at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
White revealed that Trump and his entourage received the loudest ovation he’s ever heard at a UFC event.
“Every time, when he was getting hammered at his worst, we’d walk into that arena and the place erupts and goes crazy,” White recalled. “It shows other people, ‘Oh, wait. Everybody doesn’t hate Donald Trump like the media is telling us.’”
Trump appeared on the podcasts of UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan, comedian Theo Von, and others before the election.
White thought those appearances helped Trump build his support with younger voters.
“You’re getting conversations in these podcasts, and you yourself, as a young kid, get to really see who Donald Trump is,” White said. “Not the bulls*** you hear from the far-left media.”
A study from the Pew Research Center found that 40% of Americans aged 18-29 get their news from new media sources like podcasts.
Donald Trump is overwhelmingly popular with UFC fighters
The UFC, along with professional golf, are the two sports where Trump had his highest concentration of support.
Multiple fighters paid tribute to Trump during his appearance at UFC 309.
White explained why so many fighters supported Trump in the post-UFC 309 press conference.
“If you saw the election, the entire country relates to Trump right now,” White said. “Won all the swing states. The only states she won were the ones you didn’t need I.D. to vote in. It would’ve been interesting if you needed I.D. I feel like the whole country . . . I feel like somebody hit the reset button.”
“However this election went – everyone was hoping it was a blowout,” White continued. “Either way. So there would be no more bulls***. What I think is, everybody is tired of the bulls***. We’re all tired. We all just want to live our lives and run our businesses and raise our families and do all that s*** and hopefully all this stuff will simmer down in the next four years.”
UFC helped Donald Trump broaden his appeal to voters over the years.
