The time slot for White’s appearance was notable, because Thursday serves as the final evening of the convention where Trump officially accepts his nomination from the Republican party to run for a second term.
During a pre-taped speech filmed in Las Vegas, White spoke out against recent efforts to defund police after protests sprung up across the globe in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
“Come on America, defunding these vital positions is not the answer,” White shouted. “The first responders have always taken care of us. Now more than ever, we need to take care of them.”
White also addressed the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which to date has killed more than 180,000 Americans, while giving Trump credit for his leadership and strategy to deal with the deadly virus.
“Now, let’s talk about COVID and let’s be very honest about it,” White said. “No one person and no one place could have anticipated the challenges that COVID would bring. But President Trump has faced all these obstacles head on.
“He immediately put protective measures in place and he reached out to the best and the brightest leaders in American businesses of all industries to discuss what he and his administration could do to get the economy back up and running safely.”
During his speech, White also spoke about the task force convened by Trump with leaders of sports leagues. He lauded Trump’s plans to bring professional sports back, noting the UFC was the first major organization to begin promoting events during the pandemic.
“The UFC was the first to do it, and we are continuing to do it,” White said. “Now other sports have joined us. Some of the lessons learned are being used to help re-open other types of businesses and schools.”
While White’s speech was still ongoing, a number of political pundits and fact checkers began dissecting everything said by the UFC president.
At the Republican National Convention, Dana White just said that no one could have anticipated the Covid pandemic. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1187829299207954437
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) August 28, 2020
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) August 28, 2020
Well, here we are.
On @MSNBC, @maddow invites a pulmonologist with degrees from Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard University to fact-check Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White.
— David Gura (@davidgura) August 28, 2020
On @MSNBC, @maddow invites a pulmonologist with degrees from Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard University to fact-check Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White.
— David Gura (@davidgura) August 28, 2020
Dana White's lies about Trump's coronavirus response are outrageous. Trump claimed at least 31 times that the virus would just 'go away.' More than 180,000 people have died in the U.S. Dana White's RNC speech was just filled with lies.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 28, 2020
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 28, 2020
Of course, this is laughably and provably false:
"President Trump may be the only president in modern times who has done EVERYTHING he said would do during his campaign." - Dana White#RNCConvention
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) August 28, 2020
"President Trump may be the only president in modern times who has done EVERYTHING he said would do during his campaign." - Dana White#RNCConvention
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) August 28, 2020
Dana White is praising Trump for his sports COVID task force. Mark Cuban, who was on the group, told me he was only aware of it meeting once
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) August 28, 2020
When it was finished, White threw his full support behind Trump for a second term in office, as he’d done in 2016. Above all else, White has remained loyal to the former casino owner and reality star after early support for the UFC. — Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) August 28, 2020
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