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Something to look forward to: UFC fights on the White House lawn.
OMG. I’ve come to live with the new ab-normal: Raids by heavily armed and masked ICE agents abducting people off the streets, in Santa Ana CA arresting and battering the father of three US Marines. Big beautiful bills that give billions to the rich and remove Medicaid benefits for the poor. Tariffs that raise prices and stagnate the economy. Etc.
All of these scare me. All of these make me ask what sort of country this has become. But somehow the coming-attractions announcement of presidentially sponsored UFC fights on the grounds of the White House just dispirits me. It makes me tired and weak and exhausted in ways that bad policy does not.
For those of you who are not UFC afficionados, UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, and if it had ever occurred to you that professional boxing was a bit too violent for you, you ain’t seen nothing yet. In addition to punching, UFC participants can kick, knee, and elbow their opponents, but more importantly, they can continue to do so when their opponents are on the ground and on their backs.
The perfect sport for Trump. Ultimate raw power, calling for total submission of one’s opponent. Kick them while they’re down. Show no mercy, and walk away in complete control. For those times when you are done obliterating opposition to your beautiful bills, and for those times when you are not obliterating Iranian nuclear sites, you can watch the UFC brawlers and feel that same beautiful blood-curdling sensation of absolute domination.
I guess I see Trump as the anti-JFK, the only person who could admire the one Kennedy, Robert Jr, that the rest of the Kennedy clan despises. The comparisons jump out at you immediately:
- JFK came from money, and was concerned about the poor. Trump came from money, and cares only about his own wealth and those of his cronies
- JFK saw injustice toward people of color, and wanted those injustices eradicated. Trump sees injustices being eradicated, and wants to restore white power and privilege.
- JFK wanted to bring the world together, finding commonalities with neighbors and allies. Trump worries that those countries are taking us for suckers, and sees as them poor relations to be tolerated at best.
- JFK stood up to Russia, to the point of risking war over Cuba. Trump wants to be Putin’s friend, and simply acts as his patsy, standing aside as Russia pummels Ukraine.
And JFK was all class. He embraced the arts. He was a man of culture. He had a wife of great intelligence who spoke multiple languages. Trump, for heaven’s sake, loves McDonalds and ketchup on his steak. He replaced every person on the Board of the cultural center named in JFK’s honor, and has a trophy wife who barely speaks English
Weary. Fatigued. Frazzled. Spent. Worn out. The insults keep coming—to democracy, to freedoms, and, yes, to culture.
This week UFC. Next week cock fighting.
