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Dana White and President Donald Trump have worked hand in hand in the rush to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
So it was not a surprise to see Trump have some airtime on ESPN during the UFC 249 broadcast on Saturday.
The event is being groomed as a beacon for those who support the move to return to business, as medical experts warn that doing it too soon will lead to more illness, death and the risk of another setback for an already battered economy.
Trump: “We need sports”
Trump took the opportunity to convey his reopening message, urging sports leagues to lead the way.
“We love it,” Trump said during an ad break amidst the preliminary games of the event. “We think it’s important. Take back the sports leagues. Let’s play.
“You do the social distancing and whatever else you have to do. But we need sports. We want our sports back. And congratulations to Dana White UFC. “
Donald Trump and Dana White have met face to face. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images)
White’s strategy to move forward amid a pandemic
White has repeatedly dismissed public health concerns in favor of hosting UFC events amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said in March that he was following Trump’s advice on how to proceed. The two have a long personal relationship that has translated into White’s public support for Trump on the campaign trail.
In March, White called media critics who questioned his reaction to the coronavirus “the weakest and weakest people on Earth.”
UFC Brasilia continued in March days after the rest of the sports world closed. White attempted to circumvent state and regulatory mandates in April in an effort to house UFC 249 on California tribal lands before ESPN shut it down.
The coronavirus is not gone
Saturday’s event in Jacksonville represents the sport’s official return as COVID-19 continues to rack up a death toll that has now exceeded 78,000 in the United States. Regulators in New York, Nevada and California had previously refused to sanction the event.
A fight was called off before the start of the event after Ronaldo Souza and two of his cornerbacks tested positive for COVID-19.
As of Saturday, the United States represented 1.3 million of the 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world. The Centers for Disease Control forecast that the death rate in the United States will increase from the current rate of 1,750 per day to 3,000 per day in late May.
The White House acknowledged Monday that it was not operating according to guidelines established by the CDC.
“These data do not reflect any of the models made by the working group or the data that the working group has analyzed,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement Monday.
