Temporary fighting arena was set up in the White House garden for an event celebrating Trump's 80th birthday AP President Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday this Sunday with a spectacle that would once have seemed unimaginable: a cage fighting event on the South Lawn of the White House. This week, however, the harsh realities of the job threatened to overshadow the ostentatious mixed martial arts (UFC) extravaganza, where combatants locked in a steel mesh octagon attempt to punch, kick and pummel each other into submission. Trump finds himself trapped in an unpopular and costly war in Iran, a conflict he himself helped start. An agreement to end the clash may be close, but crucial details still need to be negotiated. Meanwhile, about a mile from Trump's party, workers removed the president's name from the Kennedy Center after a judge ruled that naming the venue after Trump was a step too far. Despite this, the president will leave the White House surrounded by cabinet leaders, senior government officials, Republican congressmen and more than 4,000 spectators who will scream until they are hoarse in a temporary arena under "The Claw", a metal structure similar to a spaceship equipped with lighting, sound equipment and screens. Thousands more will watch on large screens on the nearby Ellipse. "This is a unique event, an incredible event. I love it," said UFC chief Dana White, a close friend of the president, during a Friday night promotion session at the Lincoln Memorial, where pairs of fighters pushed each other for the cameras under the stoic gaze of the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln. The president sought to associate this Sunday's event — which features seven fights that will last until after midnight — with the broader months-long celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. However, the occasion is much more focused on honoring himself, to the point that the G7 summit (leaders of industrialized nations) postponed their meeting so that the president could attend his caged fight party and then fly straight to the meetings in France. The weather, however, can ruin plans. Severe thunderstorms and lightning interrupted Friday's event at the Lincoln Memorial, and the forecast for Sunday night is also ominous. "I'm tired of hearing about the weather," White declared on Friday, before admitting that he would prefer to hold future UFC events indoors only. Now on g1 A dramatic change from Biden's 80s When Trump's predecessor, President Joe Biden, turned 80 in November 2022, he celebrated with a private family brunch at the White House, highlighting how much and how quickly things have changed. Asked about the contrast, White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the fight "will be one of the most entertaining nights in American history" and said the timing was appropriate. "Hosting this spectacle in the people's homes on Flag Day, during our nation's 250th birthday, is a fitting tribute," Schuster said in a statement. When he turned 80, Biden was the oldest president in US history and was months away from launching a re-election campaign that he would end up abandoning after a disastrous debate against Trump and a rebellion among Democrats, worried about his age for a second term. Trump has now replaced Biden as the oldest person to be elected US president. He is constitutionally barred from running again, although he constantly toys with the idea in public. This comes despite polls showing growing public skepticism about Trump's mental and physical health — reminiscent of concerns Biden faced as he turned 80. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of American adults believe Trump has the mental agility or physical health to serve effectively as president. The White House countered with a lengthy statement from Trump's former White House doctor, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, saying Trump's "resilience, focus and strength are exceptional and on display every day. Claims to the contrary are pure fiction." Jackson added that the polling concerns were "being propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that has completely ignored the absolute cognitive and physical disaster that President Biden has been." Still, Trump has undergone four publicly announced physical exams this term alone, with White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella recently declaring him in "excellent health." Trump-style 'bread and circuses' The UFC event is an accurate metaphor for Trump's combative political style. He's as much a fan of cage fighting-style politics as he is of the sport itself. But Trump has also long been a master of political distraction, deliberately presenting the public with something different to focus on when things don't go well with his presidency. With the war in Iran dragging on despite weeks of assurances from Trump that the end is near, fuel prices rising, renewed concerns about inflation and Trump's approval ratings plummeting, a White House birthday party like America has never seen is definitely a distraction. "This is all a distraction," said Mike Fontaine, a professor of classical studies at Cornell University, who compared the event to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment with the aim of bolstering the popularity of rulers and quelling potential unrest. "This is a classic strategy," Fontaine said. "In ancient Rome, the expression would be 'bread and circuses'." Trump claims the UFC is paying for the event, and while total costs have not been disclosed, the National Park Service said in a court filing that more than $60 million and tens of thousands of man hours were devoted to it, while seven government agencies "allocated significant resources and manpower." The UFC also announced on Friday that it was adding World Liberty Financial as an official event partner to create a special $250,000 bonus fund for Sunday night's winning athletes. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president's special diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, and run by his son, Zach. The arrangement further blurs the lines between the Trump family's financial interests and the events and construction projects that the president has prioritized and used government resources to accomplish. Still, Fontaine said that when it comes to a personal flair for spectacle, the president's second-term tendency to lean toward "heavy masculinity and brute fighting" is uniting the UFC's blood sport with Trump's signature humor and enduring sense of showmanship. "President Trump has a unique talent of his generation for this kind of thing," he concluded.