Now that President-Elect Trump has won the election, UFC President Dana White is happy to leave the “disgusting” world of politics alone and get back to the world of fighting.
In an interview with the New Yorker, White revealed that he will likely not appear as prominently on the political scene again.
“I want nothing to do with this sh*t,” White told the magazine. “It’s gross. It’s disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics.”
White’s reasons for becoming a prominent and regular advocate for President-Elect Trump stretch beyond his endorsement of Trump’s platform. White has a personal loyalty to Trump stemming from the former’s assistance he lent to the sport in the mid-to-late 2000s when a campaign to portray MMA as a blood sport limited the number of television and arena venues that would allow fights.
Trump, a well-known fan of combat sports of various types, saved the sport in many ways by allowing the UFC to host events at his Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino.
Because of this and his status as the leader of the anti-establishment political movement in America, Trump has an especially passionate following among MMA fans.
“Every time, when he was getting hammered at his worst, we’d walk into that arena, and the place erupts and goes crazy,” White explained. “It shows other people, Oh, wait. Everybody doesn’t hate Donald Trump like the media is telling us.”
White specifically mentioned Trump’s appearance on the podcast of his friend and UFC color analyst Joe Rogan as a major reason why Trump appealed to young male voters.
“You’re getting conversations in these podcasts, and you yourself, as a young kid, get to really see who Donald Trump is,” White said. “Not the bullsh*t you hear from the far-left media.”
