Trump Is Screening Troops by Weight and Appearance to Serve as Photogenic Backdrop at His White House UFC Event

The Pentagon is recruiting hundreds of uniformed servicemembers to fill seats at—please bear in mind that this is still a very weird sentence to type out—Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) June 14 event on the White House’s South Lawn to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday. A cage-fighting arena is being installed on the lawn. And because there are no limits to this administration’s performativity, it only wants in attendance those who meet Trump’s physique standards and will, according to internal guidance, “look good on camera.” Troops selected are required to pay their own travel costs.

The Washington Post reports:

The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event at the White House, and requiring those who attend to pay for their travel and meet height and weight requirements, according to people familiar with the matter and internal memos reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Defense Department has solicited volunteers across the services to attend the June 14 event in uniform. Officials are seeking junior enlisted personnel and junior officers specifically, according to internal messages that make clear travel costs will be “member-procured,” meaning neither the Defense Department nor the UFC intends to pay for their arrangements or accommodations.

One memo, circulated within the Air Force, stipulates that to be eligible, personnel “MUST MEET CURRENT WAIST-HEIGHT RATIO and current physical fitness standard.” Commanders were separately directed to distribute tickets to “genuine UFC fans” rather than senior officials.

The Pentagon under this president has a track record of stage-managing Trump’s appearances with troops. For example, at his earlier visit to Fort Bragg, soldiers were handpicked for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. Using the military as a prop for a combat-sports spectacle at the president’s residence, at the troops’ own expense, extends that pattern into the Twilight Zone.

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