Videos posted to social media Saturday night showed former President Donald Trump being greeted to a standing ovation as entered UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.
The event marked Trump’s first public appearance since Thursday’s verdict in his Manhattan criminal trial. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by Trump’s then-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump walked into the cheering Prudential Center Saturday night flanked by UFC president and Trump supporter, Dana White. The embattled former president high-fived fans as Kid Rock’s “American Badass” roared over the speakers.
Shawn McCreesh, a reporter for the New York Times, posted a video to X, formerly Twitter, of fans chanting “[Expletive] Joe Biden” after Trump took his seat. Immediately after, fans chanted “We Love Trump.”
Saturday’s UFC event featured a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.
Trump is an avid UFC fan, attending a host of events in recent years, including one as recently as March in Miami.
Newsweek emailed the Trump campaign Saturday night for a statement about Saturday’s UFC appearance.
In his battle for the White House against Democratic incumbent Joe Biden, Trump has suffered losses in three separate polls since Thursday’s guilty verdict in Manhattan.
However, Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director, told Newsweek via email on Saturday, “President Trump has seen an outpouring support, which has led to polling increases and record-shattering fundraising numbers that include close to $53 million in just 24 hours, 30% of those who are new donors.”
Cheung also mentioned a snap Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll taken after Thursday’s verdict, which found that Trump’s approval rating was up by 6 percentage points compared to those who disapproved.
Update: 6/1/2024, 11:12 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with additional information.
This is a developing news story that will be updated with additional information.
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