Dana White gave members of the corporate press commentary regarding the recent debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris while acknowledging he hadn’t actually watched the program yet.
Trump is a UFC regular, often attending major fights and he frequently receives serious adulation from the crowd. White told reporters that he spoke with Trump an hour prior to the debate starting. He said that Trump was taking the debate seriously, reportedly telling White that he was approaching the event “like a heavyweight fight” and wasn’t underestimating Harris.
White highlighted that it was Trump’s second debate this cycle, referring to the previous debate against President Joe Biden that went so poorly for the incumbent that he was forced to drop out of the race, crowning Harris as his replacement in late July.
White pointed out that Biden was determined too incompetent to run, but found the fact that he’s still in office until the election unsettling.
White said that Trump was debating “three to one” due to ABC being the venue. ABC runs a lot of negative coverage of Donald Trump like many corporate press outlets.
White refused to say what advice he gave to Trump.
Various polls show viewers largely what they want to hear. There are polls that suggest both candidates “won” the debate. Digital betting market Polymarket showed a slight increase for Trump (51-49%) immediately following the debate, but an endorsement for Harris by musician Taylor Swift shortly thereafter resulted in a shift back to Harris by a slim 1% margin in her favor.
Trump and White have a longstanding relationship going back to the early days of the UFC, with Trump one of the earliest supporters of the contests when it was still largely frowned upon by the entertainment establishment.
White told the corporate press that Trump is the greatest fighter of all time and praised Trump’s resilience and love of country. White also suggested that the only reason Trump was in the race was because he loved the United States and wanted to see it prosper after he was gone.
