Trump's forays into sports are a 'crystal-clear reminder that sports can be politics'
Former President Donald Trump, right, talks to Dana White while attending the UFC 302 mixed martial arts event Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Newark, N.J. It took only 91 seconds for Mike Tyson to knock out undefeated heavyweight Michael Spinks in a famous 1988 fight.
Mr. Trump is in a virtual dead heat with Mr. Biden heading into November’s contest, so both men are looking for an edge with young people and other voting blocs. One in five persons aged 18 to 34 reported in May 2023 that they were avid fans of combat sports such as UFC, according to Statista. Worries about the president’s age and vigor loom above it all, particularly after Mr. Biden’s debate performance in Atlanta.
Mr. Trump’s love of sports, meanwhile, has a long backstory. He sparred with the NFL in the 1980s as owner of the New Jersey Generals in the rival United States Football League and later flirted with buying the Buffalo Bills.“It might be an attempt to connect with young people, but I think it is a species of his obsession with celebrity and with being ‘strong’ and ‘tough,’” said Lawrence B. Glickman, a professor at Cornell University who studies the intersection of politics and sports.
“Sports figures, at least the kind of sports figures willing to stand beside Trump, have qualities Trump wants to project on himself: strength, prominence, and outlaw status,” said Mr. Niven, who teaches a class on sports and politics. “The bigger purpose of trotting out sports figures is just to keep the circus going. Trump needs people he thinks are interesting to stand beside him and help keep him interesting.
During his presidency, Mr. Trump soaked in the crowd at college football events across the South and made headlines by feting college champions with a large spread of fast-food delights at the White House.
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