Later this month, President Donald Trump will celebrate his 80th birthday with an Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match on the White House lawn.
Not a state dinner. Not a charity event. Not even a private getaway with his family. But a cage fight in the shadow of the West Wing. Construction crews have erected a massive structure called “The Claw,” giving the South Lawn the unmistakable feel of a pay-per-view democracy gone wrong.
And somehow, the cage match isn’t even the height of absurdity.
According to The Washington Post, military troops hoping to attend must meet specific body composition and fitness standards. In a memo that reads more like a casting call than a military directive, the Pentagon says service members seeking tickets to Trump’s UFC event must satisfy specific height-to-waist standards and meet all fitness requirements. Also, they can come from anywhere in the world, but they have to pay their own travel costs.
Now, I wouldn’t normally pass judgement on other people’s fitness, but the president is the one who started this, and it’s not the first time he’s brought up the subject.
The president has spent years cultivating an image of himself as a peak specimen of physical vigor. Former White House physician Ronny Jackson famously described him as having “incredibly good genes.” Earlier this year, Trump’s latest White House physician reported that he stood 6-foot-3, weighed 224 pounds and enjoyed “excellent cognitive and physical health.” One of the supporting pieces of evidence? His golf victories.
Can we stop with this nonsense? At the reported “238” pounds and a BMI of 29.7, Trump sits just shy of the obesity cutoff. It’s very convenient math.
Trump might think of himself as a UFC champ, but in real life he’s more of a McDonald’s guy.
Trump has long had a complicated relationship with measurements, whether we’re talking about crowd sizes, election margins or, apparently, his own height. When he stood next to Prince William, who is also 6-foot-3, Trump appeared visibly shorter. Social media has receipts.
The mystery of his real height resurfaced when Lara Trump, who is 5-foot-11, appeared nearly the same height as the reportedly 6-foot-3 president in an Instagram video for her show, “My View With Lara Trump.” In photos from China, she appeared to tower over her father-in-law despite his officially listed height.
High heels may narrow the gap, but the photos illustrate how Trump’s height has become part of the factually challenged mythology around the president.
If the goal of the White House UFC spectacle is to project strength, it may not be working.
If the goal of the White House UFC spectacle is to project strength, it may not be working. In a recent YouGov poll, two-thirds of respondents said they think the average American would defeat Trump in a physical fight. Just 10% picked the president. So while the administration is reportedly checking troops’ waistlines, the public appears unconvinced about the physical prowess of the man hosting the event.
Trump’s political career has been a master class in smoke and mirrors and funny numbers: bigger crowds, bigger victories, bigger ratings.
The reported fitness requirements are just part of this broader effort. Trump wants to create the perfect backdrop as he rings in his 80th year to a testosterone-soaked spectacle of blood and chokeholds, surrounded by svelt men in uniforms.
But as I said on air this week, Trump appears in need of a reality check.
For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders Townsend, watch “The Weeknight” every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MS NOW.
Michael Steele
Michael Steele is a co-host of "The Weeknight," which airs Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MS NOW.