UFC president Dana White introduced Donald Trump’s speech with a tribute to his old friend, whom he described as “the toughest, most resilient human being,” while suppressing his emotions.
After White agreed to speak just before Trump, the former president texted him, thanking him and apologizing for having to cancel early for a family trip.
“Think of it as the greatest fight you’ve ever had. A fight for our country and even the world. I just wish you didn’t have to interrupt your family trip, but I hope they understand, they love you and they know how important this is,” Trump had said, according to White.
“This man is running for president of the United States, he’s fighting for the future of this country, and he’s afraid he’s going to disrupt my family trip,” White said.
UFC president Dana White introduced Donald Trump’s speech with a tribute to his old friend as “the toughest, most resilient human being,” drawing emotion.
Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and his wife Melania Trump onstage at the end of the fourth day of the Republican National Convention
“This man is running for president in the United States. He’s fighting for the future of this country. He’s worried about disrupting my family’s trip. That’s the President Trump I know. A man who truly cares about people,” he continued.
“The mainstream media likes to push the narrative that he doesn’t care about anyone but himself. But I know that’s not true because I’ve been friends with this man for 25 years.”
“This man is the strongest, most resilient person I have ever met in my life,” he said through tears in an emotional tribute.
“How great was Dana?” Trump said in his own speech. “He was probably on the only vacation he ever had.” The former president said White had promised his wife the vacation for “many years,” but that White’s wife had told him “you can’t change [Trump] down.’
White and Trump’s friendship goes back decades, after Trump welcomed the UFC to his now-defunct “Trump Taj Mahal” in New Jersey amid a campaign to ban the sport that the late Senator John McCain once called “human cockfighting.”
“This brand was so bad, venues didn’t even want us. Arenas didn’t want us,” White said in 2022.
But when New Jersey legalized the sport in 2000, “Trump literally called us. He said, ‘Come to my house, do the event here. We’ll host you at the Trump Taj Mahal.’
Last year, White, who has not been without controversy, apologized for hitting his wife after the encounter was captured on video.
“This man is running for president of the United States, he’s fighting for the future of this country and he’s concerned about disrupting my family’s trip,” White said.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump stands onstage with former first lady Melania Trump during the final day of the Republican National Convention
“This man is the strongest, most resilient person I have ever met in my life,” White said before Trump took the stage
White, 55, who has an estimated net worth of $500 million after building the UFC into a globally profitable franchise, has been married to his wife of 27 years, since 1996, and they have three children together.
They celebrated New Year’s Eve at El Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas. Video footage shows White saying something to Anne, who responds by hitting him. He then hits her back before the pair separate.
The UFC boss said, “My wife and I were out on New Year’s Eve on Saturday night. Unfortunately, that’s what happened.”
“I’m one of those guys who says there is never, ever an excuse for a guy to touch a woman. And now I’m on TMZ talking about it.
“This is one of those horrible situations. I feel ashamed. We have three children and since the video surfaced, we have shown the children and are now more focused on our family.