As the Trump White House’s UFC event scheduled for June 14 continues to draw criticism, a range of prominent voices have weighed in, from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to UFC commentator Joe Rogan and active UFC stars themselves.
Clinton offered one of the sharpest critiques after images surfaced showing construction work on the White House grounds.
Reacting to the photos, she wrote, “This is what Trump’s done to the people’s house. A third of it is rubble. Another third is a cage match. What a metaphor.”
Rogan, who regularly calls UFC events, also voiced his opposition during a recent podcast appearance. “The White House thing is odd. I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of figh ting outside at all,” he said.
Expanding on his concerns, Rogan pointed to the potential weather conditions in Washington, D.C., noting that temperatures on the same date last year reached 100 degrees.
“You add the lights, attracts bugs. How are you going to stop the bugs?” he asked.
For Rogan, the issue goes beyond comfort and gets to the integrity of competition itself.
“I just don’t think that you should compete in a world championship match in a non-controlled environment,” he said. “I think it should be inside an air conditioned arena. It should be a controlled environment, just like you wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy, right?”
He continued by arguing that major championship events should be staged under carefully managed conditions.
“You have to play in an air conditioned arena and that’s how it should be,” Rogan said.
When the possibility of constructing a roof over the venue was raised, he offered a characteristically blunt solution.
“Build a roof,” Rogan said. “Like you’ve got all the money in the world, right? You’re doing this. You want to do this for America. It’s 4,000 seats. You build a 4,000 seat arena. How big is it? Get a barndominium. Put it in there.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was equally dismissive of the idea. Discussing the event, he suggested that fan involvement would have made it more appealing.
“So if there was some kind of inclusion for fans, it’d be more,” Strickland said. “But like, you know, just to go hang out in the Epstein. I’m good, dawg. I’m good, dude.”
UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell went even further, publicly withdrawing his support for Trump in a video posted online.
“I want to let y’all know I’m not with Donald Trump no more. I don’t support him. I don’t like him. I think he’s a corrupted leader,” Mitchell said.
Reflecting on his change of heart, he added, “And yeah, it took me a while to come to that conclusion, but I finally am coming to it. I do not like the guy at all.”
Mitchell then outlined several reasons for his criticism.
“The first thing for me was he didn’t release the Epstein files,” he said. “They’re even acting like they didn’t exist. And of course, they’re sending Israel and Ukraine all of our tax dollars, just like the numb nuts before him did. Putting America last.”
He also criticized Trump’s comments on rising beef prices.
“And now he’s blaming the beef farmers for the price of beef,” Mitchell said. “I’m not biased, man. He talked a good game. He tricked me. I was fooled. I admit it.”
Criticism has also emerged from within the military establishment. According to CNN, Pentagon sources expressed concerns about the requirements being imposed on service members seeking tickets to the event.
A defense official claimed that “senior Pentagon leaders are signaling their preference for military members who will look good on camera.”
The official added that “basically, no fat soldiers would be admitted to this event.”
