Hunter Biden took to social media Thursday to blast the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn, framing his criticism as an open letter to podcaster Joe Rogan — and closing it with a challenge to Donald Trump Jr. to settle their differences in a cage match.
“Dear Joe, I wish I could sit down with you face to face and explain why so many of us were offended by the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House,” Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joseph R. Biden, wrote on X.
Mr. Biden was careful to separate his objections from any criticism of the sport itself.
“For me, it had nothing to do with the UFC or who showed up for the fights,” he wrote. “The brand you and Dana have built is a bona fide American success story. More power to you. As for the fighters, in my book, anyone brave enough to put it all on the line in the arena is remarkable to witness.”
His dispute, he said, was with the choice of venue.
“I believe some of our public spaces are sacred,” Mr. Biden wrote. “The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any President. It belongs to the people. To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for. This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants. The White House is the People’s House.”
He went further, characterizing the Sunday event as an act of political theater rather than a patriotic celebration.
“The fights were an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy,” Mr. Biden wrote, adding that the president’s decision to host the event on the South Lawn amounted to a declaration that “this is my house.”
Mr. Biden concluded the post by describing the presidency as a caretaking role.
“The person who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is nothing more than an honored guest. A temporary caretaker. The President is our servant. Not our Caesar,” he wrote. He then appended a postscript directed at Mr. Trump’s eldest son: “Cage match between me and Don Jr.? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.”
Mr. Rogan, who served as a commentator for the event and had dismissed critics by telling them to “shut the f—- up,” was not the only one to respond. Mixed martial artist Sean Strickland pushed back on Mr. Biden’s post, writing that the founders “would roll in their graves if they seen the disgraceful things your father did to the White House.”
The challenge from Mr. Biden was not the first of its kind. In April, he said he was “100 percent in” on a cage match with both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump after filmmaker Andrew Callaghan told him he was attempting to organize the bout. Mr. Callaghan said at the time that he believed Mr. Biden’s remarks were made “in jest” but that he was “more than happy to facilitate” the fight if the Trump brothers agreed.
Donald Trump Jr. did not immediately respond to Thursday’s challenge publicly. After the UFC event, he posted photographs from the evening and described it as an experience that may never be matched.
“What an incredible night,” he wrote. “I’ve been blessed to go to many sporting events, but literally nothing had this level of intensity and aura and it’s very likely nothing ever will again.”
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