Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, spoke at the Republican National Convention on behalf of his “friend” Donald Trump.
After accepting the invitation to speak at the convention, Trump sent White a text that he read for the audience.
“Dana, I am so honored that you will be doing the introduction at the National Republican Convention. Think of it as the biggest fight you ever had, a fight for our country and even the world,” White read.
Trump apologized in the text for interrupting White’s family vacation with the request.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
“This man’s running for president of the United States, for the future of this country and he’s concerned about interrupting my family trip. That’s the President Trump that I know,” White said. “A man who’s truly about people.”
White has appeared on many Trump family social media accounts over the years. Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter, Kai Madison Trump, attended UFC 303 together and took photos with White in the past.
The UFC CEO has been a vocal support of Trump over the years, regarding him as a friend. White was just one of several celebrities speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday night. Linda McMahon, the wife of Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, spoke earlier.
Hulk Hogan also took the stage.
“You better get ready,” Hogan said. “When Donald J. Trump becomes the president of the United States, all the real Americans are going to be nicknamed ‘Trumpites’ because all the Trumpites are going to be running wild for four years.”
White posted a photograph of Trump to Instagram, calling the Republican presidential nominee an “American bad a–” after a shooting at the former president’s rally on Saturday, July 13.
Minutes into Donald Trump’s speech at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, loud popping noises were heard as people huddled for safety. Trump appeared to clutch his ear and fell to the ground. When he stood back up, surrounded by Secret Service agents, as blood was seen running down his face.
The shooting is officially being investigated as an attempted assassination. A poster with imagery of the shooter, Thomas Crooks, was seen outside of the RNC in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
“This man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I’ve ever met in my life,” White said on Thursday. “I’m in the tough man business.”
Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief from Pennsylvania, was identified as the victim in the shooting incident at a rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Also injured in the shooting were 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
GoFundMe’s have been set up for the victims and their families. White donated $50,000 to the GoFundMe and the UFC contributed another $50,000.
White spoke about how Trump has “achieved everything you can possibly achieve in life” yet he wants to run again for president.
“President Trump literally put his life on the line for something bigger than himself,” White said. “He’s willing to risk it all because he loves this country. I know he wants what’s best for the American people, all American people.”
Follow Newsweek’s live coverage of the RNC Day 4 here.
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