A giant arena called "The Claw" has been built on the famous South Lawn of the White House for a tournament on Sunday featuring 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters, UNN reports, citing AFP.
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"It is the ultimate symbol of American politics in the era of Donald Trump – a blood-soaked cage match on the White House lawn to celebrate the US president's 80th birthday," the publication writes.
Critics have reportedly slammed the unprecedented $60 million "UFC Freedom 250" event, calling it inappropriate at a time when Trump's war with Iran has led to a sharp increase in the cost of living for average Americans.
Trump says it is a great way to kick off the 250th anniversary of American independence, not to mention his own birthday, and insists that the UFC is bearing all the costs.
But the billionaire Republican is also relishing the macho side of the event, which will see bare-knuckle fighters battle in a mesh cage known as the "Octagon."
"They are the roughest people you will ever meet," Trump told the New York Post on Thursday. "If you haven't seen much of it, you won't believe it."
Trump, the publication writes, has close ties to the leaders of this brutal sport and has attended several previous fights, curating favor with its fan base of young men who also played a crucial role in his own political rise.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the event, signing a partnership agreement with UFC boss Dana White to promote mixed martial arts internationally.
"That's what Sunday is all about, it's a gift to the American people," Rubio said Thursday, adding that the event will be watched by "probably a billion people around the world."
It will certainly be unlike any other event in the 200-year history of the White House, the publication notes.
About 4,000 people will watch the match at the arena itself, and Dana White said more than half of them are US service members. Another 125,000 people are expected to watch it on a giant screen at the "Ellipse," the green space just outside the White House.
During a preview on Thursday, journalists were allowed to tour the arena, which weighs 544 metric tons, is 47 meters wide, and 28 meters high – taller than the White House itself.
"The Claw" now stands on the same legendary lawn where US President Bill Clinton hosted the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993 and Richard Nixon said his farewells.
But Trump, a former real estate mogul and reality TV star before his improbable political rise, has always been a different type of president, the publication notes.
"Donald Trump has spent his entire life creating a public image of being the Donald Trump show," Peter Loge, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, told AFP.
"It's loud, it's bright, it's glossy, that's what it is," he pointed out.
Loge said the "macho performance" on the White House lawn during a time of war and economic turmoil reflects a leadership style that appealed to Trump's supporters.
"These are gladiators," he said. "In times of chaos in the US, it signifies that the US is strength, it is power, and they are in control. There are fireworks – and two guys hitting each other."
Not everyone is so enthusiastic, the publication notes.
Ahead of the event, the Trump administration had to fight a lawsuit seeking to prevent it from taking place, arguing it was an improper use of public land to enrich the president's allies.
The White House dismissed these claims in a court filing.
It also dismissed suggestions that the arena might even remain.
"'The Claw' will be dismantled immediately after the conclusion of the event," Joshua Fischer, White House Director of Management and Administration, stated in court papers.