Hunter Biden challenges Donald Trump Jr. to cage fight in rant over White House UFC event: ‘Your call on the venue’

Hunter Biden has challenged Donald Trump Jr. to a cage fight after launching a fiery attack on plans to hold a UFC event on the White House South Lawn.In a lengthy social media post framed as an open letter to podcaster Joe Rogan, the former first son criticised the proposed UFC Freedom 250 event and accused US President Donald Trump of using the White House as a personal stage.The post came after Rogan dismissed criticism of the planned combat, telling those offended by it to “shut the f–k up”.Biden argued that the White House is a national institution rather than a possession of any president.“The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any president. It belongs to the people,” he wrote.He went on to compare the planned event to ancient Rome, saying: “To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.”“This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants,” he added.Using repeated references to the Roman Empire, Biden claimed the event sent the wrong message about presidential power.“By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is: ‘This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze.’”Despite his criticism of the White House venue, Biden praised Rogan and UFC president Dana White for building the promotion into a successful American business.He wrote that the organisation had become a “bona fide American success story” but argued that staging a fight card at the White House transformed it into “an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.”Biden concluded the letter with a pointed message about the role of the presidency.“The president is our servant. Not our Caesar,” he wrote.He then turned his attention to Donald Trump Jr. , issuing an unexpected challenge.“P.S. Cage match between me and Don. Jr? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.”Critics of Biden’s remarks also pointed to controversies during the administration of his father, former President Joe Biden. They highlighted criticism over a 2023 Pride event at the White House, where a Pride flag was displayed alongside US flags, as well as a separate event that year involving transgender social media influencers on the South Lawn.