Dana White says he does not care if his public support for Donald Trump has cost the UFC business before the promotion’s planned White House fight card.
White was asked about his relationship with Trump during an appearance on the Katie Miller Podcast. The question was direct. Has being openly supportive of Trump hurt the UFC domestically or internationally? White did not soften the answer.
“I don’t give a sh*t,” White said. “I don’t know the answer to that question.”
White said the COVID period changed how he chooses business relationships. His position now is that alignment matters more to him than trying to avoid every possible backlash.
“I’ve gotten to a point in my life, especially after COVID and all the nutty sh*t that went on during that time, that I only want to be in business with and talk to people that I’m aligned with,” White said.
White has run the UFC since the Zuffa era began in 2001, when Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the struggling promotion and made him president. The company later sold for $4 billion in 2016, and White stayed in charge. He became UFC CEO in 2023 after the TKO Group Holdings structure formed around UFC and WWE.
That business history is part of why the Trump question keeps following him. White is not an outside celebrity attaching himself to the cage for one night. He is the executive face of the promotion, and UFC Freedom 250 is set to put the company directly on White House grounds.
White Says Sports And Politics Should Be A Personal Choice
White has said the White House card is not political, and he repeated a version of that argument when asked whether sports and politics should stay separate. He said he would prefer less public division, but he stopped short of saying leagues, teams, or athletes should stay silent.
“Listen, I would love to,” White said.
White compared the current political climate to the way religion used to function in public life.
“When you think about in the 80s and 90s, religion, right? That’s basically what politics now is like,” White said. “Everybody’s fighting over all this crazy sh*t.”
He said people used to keep voting choices more private, but he also argued that sports figures and organizations should decide for themselves how public they want to be.
“I think we should go back to you don’t know who you voted for,” White said. “But I think it’s up to the athlete or the organization or whatever if they want to be involved in politics or talk on politics. It’s up to the individuals or the teams or the leagues or whatever they are.”
White also rejected the idea that he has always fit neatly into one political lane. Asked if he was always conservative, he said that was not how he viewed himself.
“I would have considered myself a lot more liberal,” White said. “I would have considered myself an 80s or 90s Democrat. But I’m more of a common sense guy. I’m not a very political person, but I’m all for common sense.”
He added that his views still do not fit cleanly into one box.
“I would still consider myself liberal in certain ways, but very conservative in others,” White said. “I’m a little bit of both.”
Watch the full podcast below:
The UFC’s Trump connection is no longer just a guest appearance at pay-per-view events. White has spoken for Trump at Republican National Conventions, walked him into arenas, and is now preparing a June 14 UFC Freedom 250 card on the White House South Lawn.
Related: Dana White says UFC Freedom 250 will put about 85,000 fans at the Ellipse.
