President Donald Trump was Dana White‘s guest of honor at UFC 316 in Newark, where he was seen greeting Mike Tyson before watching the bantamweight title rematch between current champion Merab Dvalishvili and ex-champ Sean O’Malley.
Strolling into Newark’s Prudential Center with White, Trump took a moment to shake hands with podcasters and former Tennessee Titans teammates Will Compton and Taylor Lewan before taking his cage-side seat. Trump’s son Eric, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were also on hand, as was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At one point the elder Trump and Rubio were seen sharing a fist bump while grinning into a nearby camera.
As always, UFC fans and fighters were excited to see Trump, who was showered with applause and later got a high five from Kevin Holland after his submission victory against fellow welterweight Vicente Luque.
Fight night was part of a busy weekend for Trump. After jetting to his New Jersey golf club on Friday and attending UFC 316 Saturday night, Trump was scheduled to head to Camp David for Sunday’s planned ‘retreat of principals,’ according to multiple reports.
The retreat will also include Vice President JD Vance, among others, and a number of topics are expected to be discussed.
Trump last attended a UFC event in April in Miami alongside billionaire Elon Musk, but the President’s relationship with his biggest donor has changed considerably since then.
President Donald Trump (C) and UFC CEO Dana White (L) attend UFC 316, headlined by a rematch between Georgian mixed martial artist Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley
Mike Tyson is seen behind Donald Trump, who was showered with applause at UFC 316
President Donald Trump bumps fists with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at UFC 316
US President Donald Trump (L) and Ivanka Trump attend a UFC 316 event in Newark
Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia (right) and Sean O’Malley (left) arrive prior to UFC 316 in Newark
Trump got a high five from Kevin Holland after his submission victory against Vicente Luque
On Saturday, Trump warned that Musk would face ‘very serious consequences’ if he was to start bankrolling Democratic candidates.
Their relationship disintegrated earlier this week as the former allies battled it out on social media after disagreeing on Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’
Speaking with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Saturday, Trump was asked what he would do if Musk crossed the political aisle and donated to Democrats.
‘If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that. He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that’, he told out the outlet.
Musk, who is worth $330 billion, was a major contributor to Trump’s presidential campaign – spending at least $250 million in supporting his race for the White House last year.
Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded: ‘I would assume so, yeah.’
‘I’m too busy doing other things. I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened,’ he said.
‘I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him’, Trump added.
Musk already said that he would be cutting back on spending on political campaigns ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Trump last attended a UFC event in April in Miami alongside billionaire Elon Musk , but the President’s relationship with his biggest donor has changed considerably since then
Donald Trump and Elon Musk pose for a photo during the UFC 309 in November
The president also accused Musk of being ‘disrespectful to the office of the president.’
‘I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful,’ Trump said. ‘You could not disrespect the office of the president.’
During their spat, Musk even suggested in a since-deleted post that Trump had been named in the government files involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Responding to that remark, Trump said: ‘That’s called “old news,” that’s been old news, that has been talked about for years.
‘Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It’s old news.’
The two dialed back their barbs at each other by Friday night, with both saying that they wished each other well.
But by that point, the damage to their relationship looked to be done.
Following the outbreak of their feud, Trump and his allies have said Musk turned on the bill because it cuts subsidies for electric vehicles. Musk has said he doesn’t need them anyway.
White, Trump, singer Kid Rock and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pose for a photo as they attend UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16
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Trump is no stranger to the UFC or its President and CEO. In fact, Trump tapped White to speak for him at the last three Republican National Conventions, leading many to wonder if he’d serve a greater role in the White House at some point.
‘His base is Trump’s base,’ Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former White House counselor, previously told The New York Times of White. ‘And Trump’s base is his base.’
White, however, has downplayed any potential Trump appointment.
‘Donald Trump is one of my very good friends,’ White told Sports Business Journal through a spokesperson. ‘He did a great job in his last term as president, and I know he will do an even better job the next four years. I have no personal political aspirations.’
Besides, White may provide a greater service to Trump through what The New York Times calls ‘cage-match politics.’ Trump now makes regular cage-side appearances at UFC events, where fight fans — and the fighters themselves — have showered the former President with adulation.
