UFC head Dana White dismisses concerns he's 'overtly political,' adds 'just be authentic'
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White shrugged off concerns that he was being too "overly political" through his friendship with President Donald Trump on "CBS News Sunday Morning."
White spoke with CBS News correspondent Luke Burbank about several topics, including his longtime support for Trump since acquiring the UFC decades earlier. This led to White endorsing Trump during the 2024 presidential election and eventually speaking at the Republican National Convention.
Burbank asked White whether he believed he should aim to be less "overtly political" out of concern that he could alienate potential fans.
DANA WHITE AND ANDREW SCHULZ COMMEND BILL MAHER FOR TRUMP WHITE HOUSE VISIT, BEING HONEST
"Particularly as it pertains to present sports leagues, I would think the idea would be try not to be overtly political because then you might lose half of your fan base or try to really kind of stay down the middle," Burbank remarked.
"How about be authentic and just be yourself?" White responded. "How about that? Just be authentic. You don't have to agree with me, and you don't have to like it, and I don't have to agree with you, but we can all still just get along. I mean, that's how this is supposed to work."
UFC CEO DANA WHITE MOCKS IDEA OF 'TOXIC MASCULINITY' ON '60 MINUTES'
Burbank reported that White was responsible for pushing Trump to speak on younger "manosphere" podcasts, which some have credited with helping the president win the election.
"Donald Trump is a guy’s guy. I knew that the younger generation could relate to Donald Trump," White said.
White similarly brushed off concerns in January that an upcoming UFC fight scheduled on the White House lawn to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary could be viewed as too political.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
"I mean, I don’t know how it would be too political other than it’s at the White House," White said.
He added, "Listen, if you look back throughout history, I think [former President] George Bush was a big baseball fan, [former President Barack] Obama was an NBA fan and Trump is a UFC fan. I don’t think that any of those guys being fans made any sport too political."
The fight is scheduled for June 14, which also happens to be Trump's birthday.