The selling of the White House: Trump's UFC birthday party
Donald Trump is throwing himself a UFC fight night at the White House on his birthday — behind a Paramount paywall, on the taxpayer's dime, with his name slapped on the marquee. This is the same brand of grift that brought down Viktor Orbán in Hungary. The Angry Middle is watching, and the bill is coming due.
The people's house is being rented out for a pay-per-view cage match. On his own birthday, Donald Trump is staging a UFC event at the…
The Brief
→ Four things from today’s episodeWhy a UFC event at the White House will cost taxpayers an es. Why a UFC event at the White House will cost taxpayers an estimated $10-12M in security and overhead alone
"Wasteful barbaric desecration". the WBD framing for how this money could feed hungry American families instead
The Orbán parallel. how corruption, not ideology, ultimately toppled Hungary's strongman
Paul on training in MMA in the military. and why a lifelong UFC fan still calls this the bastardization of the people's house
Recent Episodes
The primary system isn't broken — it's rigged
Plans A, B, C: Trump's summer playbook for the National Guard, ICE, and the ballot
Holy sh*t, Knicks — and Trump says he loves inflation
Summer of violence? NYC, Cuba, and Trump's all-gas-no-brakes playbook
Trump booed at MSG, Apache down in Iran, and a primary day rigged against independents
Congress finally finds a spine on Trump's Iran war
Trump invades the NBA finals — and joy as resistance
The most dangerous summer: Iran, Ukraine, Ebola, and the World Cup
By the Beat
→ 6 verticals we’re coveringGet TMI: The Morning Independent in your inbox.
Four things you need to know, every weekday morning. Pulled from the show, written by humans, free forever.