Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Vol. VIII
Est. 2019

The Mind Shield

News · Opinion · Politics · Analysis

Trump suggests tacky UFC arena at the White House could become permanent.

Trump suggests tacky UFC arena at the White House could become permanent.
Construction continues for the upcoming UFC match alongside the ballroom addition on the South Lawn of the White House on June 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Donald Trump compared his tacky UFC arena to the Eiffel Tower and suggested that it could become a permanent fixture on the White House South Lawn.

“MAYBE WE’LL NEVER EVER TAKE IT DOWN,” Trump captioned a video posted to his TikTok account, referring to the massive UFC arena erected at the White House to host UFC fights on his 80th birthday.

In the video, Trump said that the Eiffel Tower in Paris was supposed to be a temporary structure, but that France kept it up.

“People don’t know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower, 1889 it was built. It was supposed to be taken down immediately after the world’s fair, and then they said: ‘leave it up a little bit longer, and then they said, ‘let’s leave it up longer and longer and longer,'” Trump said in the video.

“Well, they never took it down, and you know we’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. Really, it’s going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never ever take it down,” Trump added.

The Eiffel Tower was constructed for the 1889 World Exhibition, and was only meant to stay up for 20 years, but the tower’s architect Gustave Eiffel fought to keep it intact, according to the Eiffel Tower’s website.

The South Lawn of the White House where Trump’s UFC arena is located, is heavily used by presidents. It is where they depart and arrive on Marine One from the lawn ahead of any travel to Joint Base Andrews. Other events, including the White House Easter Egg Roll and the annual Congressional Picnic, are traditionally hosted on the South Lawn.

The UFC arena, currently under construction, is the latest vanity project Trump has undertaken since returning to office, as he tries to leave his mark on the nation’s capital.

Among his more egregious projects is the destruction of the historic East Wing of the White House to make space for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom and a proposed 250-foot gilded triumphal arch in Washington, D.C. that would obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery.