2026-06-12T10:05:56.145Z / 路透社
华盛顿6月12日电(路透社)——总统唐纳德·特朗普的一系列高规格体育赛事本周在华盛顿启动,这位美国领导人渴望在国内外塑造强者形象。
应特朗普的要求,终极格斗冠军赛(UFC)将于周日在白宫草坪举办多场综合格斗赛事。此次活动恰逢国旗日——一个鲜受关注的纪念美国星条旗诞生的节日,同时也是特朗普的80岁生日。
路透社《内部追踪》新闻简报是您观看世界杯期间的必备指南。在此注册。
他还说服了印地赛车联盟(IndyCar)于今夏晚些时候在华盛顿特区国家广场周边举办大奖赛。而2018年特朗普首届总统任期内美国、加拿大和墨西哥获得主办权的国际足联世界杯,也已于本周开赛。
“凭借这里的环境,我们将在整个周末展示我们的国家,”自由250大奖赛主席、潘世奇公司总裁巴德·登克说道,“我真的认为,能在我们亟需之时为国家带来积极影响,这让他(特朗普)兴奋不已。”
美国官员希望借助这些赛事的势头,宣传洛杉矶2028年夏季奥运会,并提升总统的地缘政治形象。
国会设立了一个无党派委员会,负责规划美国建国250周年的相关纪念活动,但特朗普政府另成立了“自由250”组织,该组织已安排包括UFC赛事和汽车比赛在内的多项活动。
全球各国领导人已注意到特朗普对体育的兴趣。2025年12月,国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺向特朗普颁发了首届国际足联和平奖。次月,特朗普下令对委内瑞拉开展军事行动以推翻其领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗,数周后又对伊朗发动空袭。
在UFC综合格斗赛事结束后,特朗普将按计划前往法国出席七国集团(G7)领导人峰会。据当地媒体报道,法国官员推迟了峰会的开幕时间,以避免与UFC赛事发生冲突。
特朗普曾称UFC赛事是“地球上最精彩的表演”,并将白宫南草坪上搭建的UFC“利爪”赛场比作巴黎埃菲尔铁塔。
一些批评者指责总统“体育洗白”,即在人权问题、移民执法和外国冲突引发担忧之际,利用体育赛事美化自身形象。
南卡罗来纳大学体育与娱乐管理学研究员尼克·渡边表示:“我们通常在谈论独裁者或石油富国时才会提到体育洗白。但这显然也适用于美国。”
美国国务卿马可·卢比奥将UFC的发展以及白宫赛事称为“美国软性外交力量的典范”。他宣布将与UFC建立公私合作伙伴关系,将格斗体育纳入国务院的外交工作。卢比奥未具体说明财务安排。
批评人士将此举与海湾国家相提并论——这些国家通过投资包括UFC在内的格斗体育组织来彰显影响力,并转移外界对其人权记录的审视。
“他利用了这个绝佳时机,试图将自己置于美国建国250年的前沿,”渡边说道,“我认为这毫不隐晦。他想向所有人展示美国是伟大的,而他正是那位领袖。”
特朗普的盟友表示,这些赛事体现了特朗普毕生对体育的热爱、他的商业头脑,以及他为打造变革型总统遗产所做的努力。白宫代表未回应路透社的多次置评请求。
作为团结纽带的体育
“自由250”组织发言人朱莉娅·弗里德兰德表示:“长期以来,体育一直是团结美国人的共同语言,这种精神也体现在美国建国250周年的庆祝活动中。”
得克萨斯州共和党人、前美国职业棒球大联盟球星马克·特谢拉表示,UFC赛事引发批评仅仅是因为它与特朗普挂钩。“如果你对华盛顿的一场体育赛事耿耿于怀——那我们国家还有更多更严重的问题,”他说道。
特朗普与综合格斗的渊源可追溯至其从政之前。2000年,UFC首场正式认证赛事就在特朗普位于新泽西州大西洋城的泰姬陵赌场举办。特朗普还在2008年和2009年亲自尝试推广综合格斗赛事,UFC早期赛事也曾在他的赌场举办。
除综合格斗外,特朗普曾多次试图收购美国国家橄榄球联盟(NFL)球队。他曾收购过一个橄榄球联盟的球队,但该联盟最终失败,曾与NFL争夺人才和观众。
一些拥有体育背景的政治对手对白宫赛事表示担忧。
曾参加过两场职业综合格斗赛事的堪萨斯州民主党众议员莎里斯·戴维斯表示,在消费者成本不断攀升、美国正处于战争状态的当下,白宫前拔地而起的大型临时赛场让她感到不安。她告诉路透社,她还担心特朗普对UFC的喜爱会玷污这项运动。
“我主要的担忧是看到这项我希望能继续发展下去、希望人们能继续接触并爱上的运动被政治化,”她说道。
UFC拳手告诉路透社,他们对于如何应对这场排场十足的活动以及其中的政治元素有着不同的打算。
曾公开赞扬过特朗普的轻量级选手迈克尔·钱德勒表示,他会尽量不受现场氛围影响,像对待其他比赛一样备战。加拿大雏量级选手艾曼·扎哈比预计,在对阵公开支持特朗普的美国选手肖恩·奥马利时,自己会遭到观众的嘘声和嘲讽。
但扎哈比表示,他会寻找方式铭记这个场合以及总统。
“这可能是永远不会再重演的场景,”扎哈比说道,“这是一次性的活动,而且特朗普是个特立独行的人,他热爱综合格斗,热爱UFC……我认为这(赛事)就是一场盛大的庆祝活动。”
维权组织表示,他们担忧赛场场景会将政治以及对特朗普的盲从注入体育赛事之中。
“日益抬头的威权主义、大规模冲突以及全球范围内的多边主义倒退,都对体育产生了直接影响,”非营利人权组织“体育与权利联盟”执行主任安德里亚·弗洛伦斯说道。
“全球各方都在争夺权力,但他们将体育作为武器,我们已经看到唐纳德·特朗普及其领导下的美国正以不同方式利用体育。”
雅各布·博格奇报道;塞尔吉奥·农、桑吉夫·米格拉尼编辑
Trump’s grand sporting season begins with UFC fights on White House lawn
2026-06-12T10:05:56.145Z / Reuters
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s run of high-profile sporting events begins this week in Washington, with the U.S. leader eager to project an image of strength at home and abroad.
At Trump’s behest, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will stage a slate of mixed martial arts bouts on the White House lawn on Sunday. The event coincides with Flag Day, a little-observed holiday celebrating the adoption of the U.S.’s stars and stripes, and Trump’s 80th birthday.
The Reuters Inside Track newsletter is your essential guide during the World Cup. Sign up here.
He also persuaded IndyCar to hold a Grand Prix race around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. later in the summer. And the FIFA World Cup, which was awarded to the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2018 during Trump’s first presidency, started this week.
“We’re going to showcase our country that whole weekend because of the surroundings that we have,” said Bud Denker, chair of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and president of Penske Corp. “I really think it excites him (Trump) that it provides this positivity to our country when we need it.”
U.S. officials hope to use the momentum from these events to promote the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — and elevate the president’s geopolitical brand.
Congress established a nonpartisan commission to plan events around the country’s 250th anniversary, but the Trump administration created its own group, Freedom 250, which has scheduled events including the UFC fights and auto race.
Global leaders have taken notice of Trump’s interest in sports. In December 2025, FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded Trump its inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. The following month, Trump ordered a military mission in Venezuela to depose its leader, Nicolás Maduro, followed several weeks later by strikes on Iran.
Almost immediately after the UFC’s mixed martial arts fights, Trump is scheduled to visit France for a meeting of G7 leaders. French officials delayed the start of the gathering to avoid a conflict with the UFC event, local media reported.
Trump has called the UFC fights “the greatest show on Earth” and likened the UFC’s “Claw” arena looming over the White House’s South Lawn to Paris’ Eiffel Tower.
Some critics accuse the president of “sportswashing,” or using athletic events to bolster his image amid concerns over human rights issues, immigration enforcement and foreign conflicts.
“We tend to talk about sportswashing when we talk about dictators or oil-rich countries,” said Nick Watanabe, who studies sport and entertainment management at the University of South Carolina. “It definitely applies to the United States.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the UFC’s growth and the White House fights as “the definition of American soft diplomatic power.” He announced a public-private partnership with UFC to incorporate combat sports into the State Department’s diplomatic efforts. Rubio did not specify the financial arrangements.
Critics have drawn comparisons to Gulf countries that invest in combat sports organizations, including UFC, to project influence and deflect scrutiny of their human rights records.
“It’s him using this opportune moment and it’s him trying to place himself at the forefront of 250 years of the American republic,” Watanabe said. “There’s nothing subtle about it, I think. He wants to show everybody that America is great, and he is the one leader.”
Trump’s allies said the events reflect Trump’s lifelong love of athletics, his business acumen and his efforts to secure his legacy as a transformational president. White House representatives did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment.
SPORTS AS A UNIFIER
Julia Friedland, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, said: “Sports have long served as a common language that brings Americans together, and that spirit is reflected throughout the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.”
The UFC event has drawn critics simply because it’s tied to Trump, said Mark Teixeira, a Texas Republican and former Major League Baseball star. “If you’re getting bent out of shape about a sporting event in Washington, D.C. — we have a lot bigger problems in our country,” he said.
Trump’s history with mixed martial arts predates his political career. UFC held its first officially sanctioned event at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2000. Trump also attempted MMA promotion himself in 2008 and 2009, and UFC’s early shows took place at his casino.
Beyond MMA, Trump has on multiple occasions attempted to purchase National Football League teams. At one point, he purchased a franchise in a failed football league that competed with the NFL for talent and viewership.
Some political opponents with sports backgrounds expressed concern about the White House event.
Representative Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat who fought two professional MMA bouts herself, said the sight of a massive, temporary arena rising at the White House gives her pause at a time when consumer costs are spiraling and the U.S. is at war. She told Reuters she also worries that Trump’s attachment to UFC could taint the sport.
“My main concern is seeing the politicization of a sport that I hope continues to grow and that people continue to find and fall in love with,” she said.
UFC fighters told Reuters they had different plans on how to handle the pomp and circumstance — and politics.
Lightweight competitor Michael Chandler, who publicly praised Trump in the past, said he’d try to tune out the atmosphere and treat the fight as any other. Canadian bantamweight fighter Aiemann Zahabi expects to face boos and jeers while fighting American Sean O’Malley, an avowed Trump supporter.
But Zahabi said he’d look for ways to acknowledge the occasion and the president.
“It’s something that’s probably never going to be repeated again,” Zahabi said. “It’s a one-off, and you know, Trump’s an eccentric guy, and you know, he loves MMA. He loves UFC… I think of it (as) just one big celebration.”
Advocacy groups say they’re concerned that the scene at the venue injects politics — and deference to Trump — into the sports action.
“Rising authoritarianism, large-scale conflicts, and global retreat from multilateralism all have direct consequences to sport,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, a nonprofit human rights group.
“Global actors vie for power, but they use sports as a weapon, and we have seen Donald Trump and the U.S. under his administration using sports in different ways.”
Reporting by Jacob Bogage; Editing by Sergio Non and Sanjeev Miglani