Dana White's 'Not Political' Claim Shattered by Turning Point USA Ad at UFC Event

Dana White's insistence that the UFC's connection to President Donald Trump is “not political” crumbled under the weight of a politically charged advertisement shown at a recent event. The UFC fan fest on the Ellipse featured a massive video board displaying an ad from Turning Point USA, a controversial conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk.

This event, touted as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, coincided with Trump’s 80th birthday. The UFC went all out, spending over $60 million to stage the fight, while seven federal agencies allocated significant resources to support the spectacle.

While the South Lawn event was largely closed off to credentialed media, thousands of UFC fans gathered for the fan fest. They watched fights on giant screens and were bombarded with ads from various sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch and Crypto.com. However, the Turning Point USA ad stood out, invoking Kirk, who died last year, and urging fans to “pick up the mic” and “fight for freedom.”

White and Trump attended Kirk’s funeral service last year, where they were seen laughing together. Earlier this year, White reiterated his claim that politics had no place in the White House event during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He labeled it as “our gift to America’s 250th birthday.”

“We’re paying the entire bill on all of this — everything that you see. Not one dollar of taxpayer money will go into this,” White stated. “This is the UFC's gift to the 250th birthday of America.”

He attempted to dismiss political affiliations, claiming, “One of the myths that I would like to crush is, I don’t care if you’re far right, far left, right down the middle.”

White insisted that the event was about celebrating the United States and its history, not politics. “If you love America, you’re going to love this event. It has nothing to do with politics. We just happen to be on the White House lawn, and the President of the United States will be there.”