In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has waved off the stalled Iran negotiations and the looming midterm elections with a shrug: “I don’t care,” he said during a Cabinet meeting last week. But there is one topic that has his full attention: America’s 250th birthday.
People close to the president say he’s fixated on the flurry of events descending on Washington for the semiquincentennial celebration. He’s throwing himself into construction and renovation projects around the capital, staging a UFC fight at the White House — his idea — and attempting to salvage a botched “Freedom 250” concert series by reimagining it as a political rally. The conflict with Iran — to say the least — is untimely for celebration optics.
“The plans and vision for UFC at the White House was in motion long before the Iran conflict started,” said a former White House official, who was granted anonymity to speak about internal strategy. They said hosting a UFC fight — a sport Trump has avidly followed for years — was meant as a nonpartisan celebration intended to honor members of the armed forces.
But much of the confusion over how partisan the celebrations really are can be traced back to two separate organizations with confusingly similar names.
This is a preview of an article by Jake Traylor and Soorin Kim. Read the full article here.
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