The former president’s Mar-a-Lago property was searched by FBI officials this week
White has campaigned for Trump in the past. © Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
UFC President Dana White says he can think of “ten other people’s houses” that should have been raided by the FBI when he was asked about the search warrant which was executed at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida this week.
Former US President Trump’s residence was raided by FBI agents on Monday as part of a continuing investigation into allegations that Trump secreted highly sensitive classified documents out of the White House when his presidency ended.
White, meanwhile, has been a prominent supporter of the former US president and formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy ahead of both the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections – a relationship which began when Trump hosted UFC events at his casino in New Jersey in the organization’s early days, and when other venues distanced themselves from what was then seen by many as a barbaric niche sport.
And while White hasn’t yet had an opportunity to discuss the FBI raid with Trump, he told the media on Tuesday in Las Vegas that the circumstances surrounding the investigation are “crazy”.
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
“It’s madness, man,” White announced when asked about the still-developing story
“The whole world is crazy right now. I don’t know what to think, and I don’t know enough about it and I haven’t talked to him. I’ve only seen bits and pieces on the news so I don’t know exactly what’s going on but I’ll probably call him in the next couple of days.
“I didn’t want to call him… I’m sure he’s got better f***ing things to do than for me to call him and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on over there?’
“But I will talk to him in the next couple of days.”
Trump’s leagues of supporters sprang to his defense online almost immediately after news of the FBI raid found its way to social media – and White added his voice to the issue when he was pressed on whether or not the raid was an example of the United States moving towards being a ‘Banana Republic’.
“It’s interesting, man,” said White. “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even know what to think about any of that stuff – again, because I don’t know enough about it.
“But yeah, I can think of about – without getting political right now and getting into all this f**king bulls**t – there’s ten other people’s houses that probably should have been raided before his that haven’t happened. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.”
The FBI raid is one of several different legal situations Trump has found himself enveloped in in recent weeks and months. In addition to the allegations of withholding national records from the US National Archives and Records Administration, he faces an ongoing investigation into his potential role in the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.
Trump is also battling allegations of wire fraud, election tampering, New York criminal and civil enquiries into his real estate dealings, a defamation case against a woman who claims she was sexually harassed by Trump, and several others.
NYT writer accuses Trump of flushing documents down toilet
