UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland used his appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show to lay out, in blunt terms, why he has soured on the Trump administration after once being one of its more visible supporters.
“They were so weird. Even me, like I get so much h[]te now from going back to the Navy Seal thing. Like you know when when I was like pro MAGA dude I had so much like so much more love from people,” Strickland said. “But the moment I like came out and said ‘Hey man, the list is a little weird.'”
Strickland focused heavily on how the Epstein files were handled, pointing to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s personal lawyer Todd Blanche overseeing redactions.
“He reluctantly signed the bill, like he reluctantly signed the freedom to release the files. Guy has Pam Bondi who he put in, have his personal lawyer handle all, Todd Blanche, have all file releases. He handles all redactions. We get three million documents out of six million,” he said, adding that only the names of abusers, not targets, appeared to be blacked out. “How hard would it be to take a permanent marker and just cross out Stacy’s name, Jessica’s name?”
He also pushed back on the idea that no explanation was needed.
“I believe that Trump is protecting and hiding powerful people and he’s used the government to do it. You cannot give me an explanation for this.”
On immigration, Strickland argued that open borders benefit the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans, and that Trump’s base has not been rewarded for its loyalty.
“You take somebody making $60,000 and now you add 4% inflation, a metric ton of gas. You’re adding thousands of dollars a year to their to their life,” he said. “It’s like the people that have voted you, that rallied around you, like you actively just spit in their face for what?”
Strickland was equally skeptical of the administration’s approach to Iran, criticizing the influence of the Israeli lobby and the defense industry on U.S. foreign policy decisions. He noted that despite meeting Trump personally and finding him “charismatic,” he never appeared in a Trump rally.
Strickland also talked about why he was barred from Trump’s 80th birthday event and denied UFC support to attend the surrounding festivities, a move he says he understands given his outspokenness.
“I could have separate politics and fighting. It’s cool. It’s at the White House, man. It’s a once in a lifetime event. Of course I’d go. But I don’t blame the UFC and I don’t blame the White House because Trump’s a piece of s[]t and I would have definitely have said that on live TV.”
