Trump silent as UFC fighter's slur against Michelle Obama stirs White House controversy

The White House found itself at the centre of a political storm on Monday after President Donald Trump failed to condemn remarks made by a mixed martial arts fighter who, during a live broadcast, appeared to suggest that the former first lady Michelle Obama was a man. The comments, delivered by Josh Hokit to commentator Joe Rogan, came during a series of bouts staged on the White House lawn — a bloodthirsty spectacle streamed on Paramount+ to mark Mr Trump's 80th birthday. Despite the controversy, neither the president nor his administration has issued any public statement on the matter, a silence that drew sharp criticism during CNN's "NewsNight" programme.

Abby Phillip, the programme's host, took issue with the explanation offered by the network's Republican commentator, Scott Jennings, who suggested that the administration might simply have "a policy not to" condemn every remark made by supporters. Mr Jennings had initially proposed that, were he in the president's position, he would say: "We don't endorse these comments." Yet when pressed by Ms Phillip as to why the White House had not uttered precisely such a sentiment, he resorted to the assertion that the administration was "constantly being asked to condemn things" and had likely adopted a blanket policy of not doing so.

Ms Phillip, however, was not prepared to accept what she characterised as "weak sauce". Noting that Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, had already described Mr Hokit's comments as "nasty and false", adding that he "hate[s] that kind of nonsense", she asked pointedly: "These people in the White House, [communications director] Steven Cheung, the president, nobody has the guts or the decency to say, 'That's inappropriate, it shouldn't have been said, it's wrong.' Why?" When Mr Jennings repeated his assertion that the administration was too frequently asked to condemn things, she responded: "Aren't there some things that they should condemn?"

The exchange grew testy, with other panelists joining the fray, before Ms Phillip delivered her final verdict. "The idea that they always have to condemn things is not an excuse for not condemning things that should be condemned," she said. The irony of the situation was not lost on observers, who noted that Mr Trump had, only recently, shared an AI-generated video depicting the former first lady and President Barack Obama as apes - a post that itself drew widespread condemnation. Mr Hokit, for his part, appeared unrepentant, taking to social media to describe himself as "courageous" for having made the remarks, as the controversy continued to refuse to subside.