President Donald Trump received a standing ovation and as he walked out at UFC 314 in Miami on Saturday night.
Flanked by family members and UFC CEO Dana White, the president made his way ringside to a rousing rendition of Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass” and thunderous applause from the onlooking crowd.
“Is there anybody else that has a walk-in, other than a fighter?” UFC commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan asked.
Before long, chants of “USA” began to fill the arena as Trump greeted Rogan, who interviewed Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, and took his seat next to embattled Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the de facto leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Also present were Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; FBI director Kash Patel; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
As if the crowd wasn’t already fired up enough, Trump also later gave them a brief tease of his somewhat iconic dance to the Village People’s “YMCA.”
Speaking after the event on board Air Force One, the reception wasn’t lost on Trump.
“What did you think of the reaction?” he asked, adding that he thought it was “legendary.”
“It’s a great honor to have that kind of ovation,” he continued. “It says we’re doing a good job. If we weren’t doing a good job, we’d get the opposite.”
Trump is no stranger to the UFC.
He’s made a string of appearances at fights over the years, including a surprise arrival at UFC 309 after his election win in November, when he was again joined by Musk and other allies and again enjoyed a rapturous welcome.
It comes after a wild week in financial markets that saw Trump call for a 90-day pause to his higher rate “reciprocal” import tariffs after chaos hit both the stock and bond markets.
On Saturday, the US announced that it would exempt some key tech products, like smartphones, computers, and chip-making equipment, from Trump’s sweeping tariffs, in a major boost for the tech sector.
The new guidance, published by the US Customs and Border Protection, appears to exempt the products from Trump’s baseline 10% tariff rate on most countries as well higher duties on China.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said the US’s decision marked a “small step” toward rectifying what it regards as a misguided policy, per Chinese state news.
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