Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show traveled to Washington D.C. last weekend to cover what he described as “the American fever dream,” a UFC 250 event held on the White House lawn as part of President Trump’s birthday and Flag Day celebration.
The event featured BMX jumps, Birds of Prey flyovers, fighter jets, and a massive crowd of fight fans gathered on federal property.
As he moved through the crowd, Klepper took the pulse of attendees, producing exchanges that ranged from humorous to unexpectedly revealing.
When one attendee called the event “the American dream,” Klepper immediately challenged the idea.
“This is the American dream? Two sweaty guys competing on the White House lawn,” he said sarcastically.
When the attendee replied, “Yeah, why not?” Klepper doubled down.
“Well, it feels like the American fever dream to me,” he responded.
Elsewhere, one father told Klepper he had brought his daughter to the event in hopes she might find a boyfriend. Klepper couldn’t resist a jab.
“You brought her to a UFC event. God bless. Father of the year over here,” he joked.
One older attendee, who had lived through America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, reflected on how different things felt back then.
“Nobody fought. Everybody loved each other. Everybody was shaking hands. We need to just love each other,” the man said.
Klepper agreed with the sentiment before highlighting the irony of the setting.
“And we do that by finding some guys who’ll just beat the s**t out of each other,” he quipped.
The conversation eventually turned to history. When one attendee compared the event to the gladiatorial spectacles of Ancient Rome, Klepper observed, “The emperor is giving us bread and circus. Or Monster drinks and circus.”
Klepper then asked which Roman emperor President Trump most resembled. One attendee compared him to Anakin Skywalker rather than Darth Vader.
“Like Anakin Skywalker, not like Darth Vader,” the man said.
Klepper then said sarcastically, “Anakin, he had those authoritarian leanings.”
Another attendee suggested the notoriously eccentric Roman emperor Caligula, mentioning that Caligula had once attempted to get his horse elected to the Senate.
Klepper responded with a contemporary political reference. “Trump tried to get Markwayne Mullin in there,” he joked.
The crowd also debated a hypothetical match between Trump and former President Barack Obama.
After one attendee predicted a Trump victory, Klepper pushed back. “Donald Trump is pooling blood at his ankles and falls asleep at MSG,” he said.
When the discussion shifted to how the event might look to the rest of the world, one attendee recalled a description he had seen online.
“I read something today, it’s a big red redneck yard sale,” the man said.
Klepper used the comment to sum up the atmosphere surrounding the event.
“There’s people having a fi ght on a front yard in front of an open construction project with a guy who’s bragging about an above ground pool and somehow that feels trashy,” he said.
The segment ended with one attendee openly embracing the label. After the person admitted they were, in fact, trashy, Klepper thanked them for their honesty before signing off with one final jab:
“Happy birthday, Emperor Trump.”
