MIAMI (AP) — The President of the United States, Donald Trump, was greeted with a standing ovation and cheers from a crowd of thousands of people who attended a UFC event on Saturday night, where he shook hands with supporters against a backdrop of fans waving their characteristic MAGA hats.
Upon entering, Trump greeted podcast host Joe Rogan, who was sitting to the right of the president. On the other side of Trump was Elon Musk, a billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump, who paired his dark suit with a bright yellow tie, raised his fist in the air, prompting cheers to the tune of “Taking Care of Business”.
The president was accompanied by several members of his government and the White House team, such as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the FBI director, Kash Patel; the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and White House communications advisors Steven Cheung and Taylor Budowich. The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, also joined Trump for UFC 314.
Trump entered the arena with UFC president Dana White, a close acquaintance of his for decades. He was also accompanied by his granddaughter Kai Trump, daughter of Donald Trump Jr.
Throughout the entire fight, the venue’s screen frequently showed the president, eliciting roars from the packed stadium. The crowd periodically chanted “USA,” and Trump briefly danced to the beat of Village People’s “YMCA” from his seat, energizing the crowd.
Between fights, Trump occasionally shook hands with people who approached him and leaned in to talk to Musk, who sometimes held his son on his shoulders. However, for the most part, he remained seated, acknowledging and speaking with the fighters who approached the ring to greet the president.
The Republican president has been a longtime fan of UFC and a sports enthusiast, frequently attending major fights. The mixed martial arts fight at the Kaseya Center in Miami was Trump’s first visit to the UFC since taking office in January, and it came weeks after he attended the LIV golf tournament sponsored by Saudi Arabia at his golf club in Miami.
In an additional nod to his enthusiasm for sports, Trump has also attended the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 since taking office. He sat cageside at a UFC championship fight in New York City last November, shortly after winning the 2024 election.
In addition to the president, the main event of UFC 314 was a championship fight in which Australian Alexander Volkanovski retained the featherweight title against Brazilian fighter Diego Lopes. It was the fourth UFC event in Miami, in a county that supported the president by about 11 percentage points in the November elections.
The president arrived in West Palm Beach on Friday for his tenth visit to South Florida since becoming president, spending the night at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. He flew to Miami after playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.
“Do you know who’s going to win? Dana White. Dana White is going to win,” Trump told reporters Saturday night aboard Air Force One.
His close affiliation with the UFC helped boost his 2024 presidential campaign among young male voters before the November elections, where he made promoting a hypermasculine attitude a campaign signature.