UFC fans gave a standing ovation and greeted former US President Donald Trump when he arrived for a match at UFC 302 in New Jersey. The guilty verdict against the former president in the Stormy Daniels hush money case did nothing to dim the applause that greeted the former president who was the first former US president ever convicted of a crime.
Trump entered shortly after American mixed martial artist (MMA) Sean Strickland made his entry and was greeted with chants of ‘USA, USA!’ at Newark’s Prudential Center on Saturday.
He was accompanied by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White who ushered him and sat with him ringside.
President Donald Trump is in the building! #UFC302 | LIVE on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/5GxqLnWbzI— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) June 2, 2024
He was greeted by noted celebrities like comedian Theo Von and podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan who after shaking hands with him could be heard saying ‘Thank you, sir’.
“Boy, the round of applause he’s getting right now is pretty staggering,” Joe Rogan said. The podcaster during the 2020 elections was asked to hold a debate between US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump by Donald Trump himself, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The jury in New York earlier this week found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The crowd is going wild for Trump #ufc302 pic.twitter.com/a4Ga2ttkfI— Suhr Majesty ™ (@ULTRA_MAJESTY) June 2, 2024
Prosecutors said Trump had sex with porn actress Stormy Daniels soon after his wife Melania had given birth in 2006, and then paid hush money a decade later to avoid the fallout and deceive voters, before creating false paperwork to conceal the payment.
The president’s 34 convictions did not matter to the crowd at the Newark’s Prudential Center as jeers at US President Joe Biden saying ‘f**k Joe Biden’ and chants of ‘we want Trump’ reverberated around the stadium.
At one point Trump greeted the crowd with a raised fist when a sudden chant of ‘f**k Joe Biden’ rang out.
“Fuck Joe Biden” chant breaks out at UFC 302. Mainstream media will never show this. So it’s up to you to share it!#UFC302 pic.twitter.com/SieBEkWXvd— Steve (@SteveLovesAmmo) June 2, 2024
Some supporters waved Trump 2024 flags and shook hands with the former president leaning out from their seats. At least 17,000 fans attended the UFC 302 event.
Many of them high-fived and shook hands with Donald Trump as Dana White conducted him through the crowd as the former president repeatedly mouthed ‘thank you’ in response to the cheers.
Aaron Rodgers, one of the best professional American football players, was also in attendance and received a standing applause. They, however, did not interact as Aaron Rodgers remained seated and watched the president pass by when Trump walked right by him.
Aaron Rodgers just refused to shake Trump’s handI lost all respect I had for him pic.twitter.com/JX1rsMXeOQ
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) June 2, 2024
An Associated Press report from earlier this week said that Trump’s early reaction to the verdict suggested he will wear his conviction like a crown. This was evident at Saturday night’s event.
Trump received a six-point bump in approval ratings after a jury found him guilty in the hush-money payment case, a snap poll, conducted in the hours after the verdict, by DailyMail.com showed.
UFC Crowd goes INSANE for Trump just two days after being convicted in NY trial. pic.twitter.com/mmQjSpsJMp— RAJNISH DUBEY (@rajnishradu) June 2, 2024
The jury in Manhattan on Thursday found him guilty on 34 counts and each count carries a possible maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.
He is due for sentencing on July 11 but will appeal the verdict.
However, that has also not stopped the flow of money into the Trump campaign.
Donald Trump’s campaign said Friday it had raised nearly $53 million in online small-dollar donations after he was convicted in his New York hush money trial, boasting that the verdict had galvanized his support “like never before.”
The record haul was equivalent to more than $2 million raised per hour, it said.
Senior campaign aides Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in statements that more than a third of the total came from new donors to the campaign and hailed an “outpouring of support from patriots across our country.”
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