Dana White says gnats at Trump’s White House Rose Garden dinner raised concerns for outdoor UFC events

Dana White says an exclusive dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House Rose Garden came with one unexpected problem: gnats.

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The UFC boss revealed this week that a recent visit to the newly reopened Rose Garden quickly turned into a harsh lesson about the challenges of hosting outdoor events on the East Coast, something that could become especially relevant as conversations continue around UFC’s plans for the America 250 celebration in June.

Speaking with Boardroom, White said the bugs were impossible to ignore during the dinner, which immediately got him thinking about UFC events set for 1600 Penn.

“Another problem that I always think about, especially on the East Coast, bugs,” White admitted.

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“President Trump just opened the Rose Garden two nights ago and he invited me to dinner there. The amount of gnats that were flying around … I’m like, ‘Holy s–t.’ As soon as I got on the plane, I called my head production and said, ‘Yeah, let me tell you about the gnat situation tonight.’”

White, a longtime Trump ally and friend, said the experience immediately shifted his concern toward production tied to outdoor fight cards.

Rather than focusing on the White House setting itself, White said his attention quickly turned toward how bugs could affect lighting, camera shots and the overall broadcast presentation during a live pay-per-view event.

White said in the past, regarding America 250:

“If you are a fan of the UFC, and especially if you have never been to Washington, D.C., we’re going to give away about 85,000 tickets and there’s a process you have to register for tickets and they’re free, but you should come to Washington, D.C., that week, the week of the fight. We’re going to be doing all kinds of things in D.C. for fans and it’s really a cool city for probably most people have never been and if you’re a UFC fan this is absolutely, positively the time to come to D.C.”

If the UFC eventually stages a major outdoor card, in Washington, D.C. as part of America 250 celebrations, it sounds like insect control may become part of the production planning.

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