The U.F.C. President, Dana White, on Donald Trump: “He’s Not a Racist”
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There will be a variety of celebrations to honor America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary this year. Much of it is to be expected: fireworks, red, white, and blue lights, even a military parade. But something else is happening, something that probably wouldn’t occur if anyone other than Donald Trump were President. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premier league for mixed martial arts, is staging a fight at the White House. The U.F.C. was founded in 1993, and exploded in popularity after Dana White took over as president of the company, in 2001. He’s also been friends with Donald Trump for a quarter century, and spoke on the President’s behalf at all three Republican National Conventions where Trump was the nominee. He’s stumped for him at rallies, and Trump even called him up to speak at his victory celebration on Election Night in 2024. David Remnick and White discuss his remarkable rise to prominence, and his relationship with the increasingly unpopular President. “He’s not a racist,” White tells Remnick. “He’s not a fascist. He loves this country. And if you’re an American—race, religion, whatever it is—President Trump is on your team, that I guarantee you.”
Further reading:
- “Donald Trump’s U.F.C. Victory Party,” by Sam Eagan
- “Cage-Fighting During a Pandemic: Is This the Future of Sports?,” by Kelefa Sanneh
- “Fighting for Trump: The U.F.C. Comes to New York City,” by Kelefa Sanneh
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| 0:00.0 | If you're a fan of the political scene podcast from The New Yorker, I hope you'll join us for a special live taping of the show at 92 NY in Manhattan. |
| 0:10.3 | We'll be talking about Donald Trump's falling approval numbers, the prospects of a comeback for the Democratic Party in the midterms, and the potential threats to the election that are coming directly from the president himself. |
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| 0:28.0 | on June 4th at 7 p.m. ticket information at 92NY.org. You're listening to the political scene. I'm David Remnick. |
| 0:46.9 | Early each week, we bring you a conversation from our episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour. |
| 0:53.8 | The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC and The New Yorker. |
| 1:00.4 | Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. |
| 1:04.3 | There will be a variety of celebrations to honor America's 250th anniversary this year, |
| 1:10.5 | and much of it can be easily anticipated. |
| 1:13.3 | Plenty of fireworks, buildings bathed in red, white, and blue lights, even a military parade. |
| 1:19.5 | But something else is happening. |
| 1:21.6 | Something that probably would not be happening if anyone other than Donald Trump was in the White House. |
| 1:27.9 | It sounds crazy. I know it's going to be very high security and high stress and weird to have |
| 1:33.0 | a fight at the White House in the middle of a fucking war. I would hope the war will be sorted out |
| 1:39.3 | by June, but quite honestly, I'm not confident that that's going to be the case. No. |
| 1:44.8 | Yeah. |
| 1:45.4 | Yeah. |
| 1:46.2 | So that would be weird. |
| 1:51.3 | That's Joe Rogan describing the upcoming fight on the South Lawn of the White House, |
| 1:55.2 | put on by UFC, the ultimate fighting championship. |
| 1:58.2 | That's the Premier League for Mixed Martial Arts, |
| 2:01.7 | where fighters call on a variety of styles from around the world, |
... |
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