Why Did Hulk Hogan And Dana White Speak At RNC? Their Trump Ties Explained.
Hulk Hogan and Dana White made speech during Dana White and Hulk Hogan delivered speeches at the Republican National Convention, highlighting Trump’s ties to WWE as well as UFC.
By Tavon Thomasson
Jul 19, 2024 09:22 PM
Topline
UFC President Dana White and longtime WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan delivered high-octane endorsement speeches to Former President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in a way that highlighted the president’s long-standing ties with both WWE as well as the UFC.
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Key Facts
The WWE relationship, which was previously known as WWF–has been in place since the year 1988 when Trump was involved in the growth of Vince McMahon’s now billionaire entertainment empire. This led to Trump Plaza in Atlantic City sponsoring WrestleMania 1988 and 1989 (Trump declared in the documentary from 2011 that that he “wanted a piece of” the WrestleMania event).
Since the time, Trump has also made appearances at WrestleMania 1991 in Los Angeles and WrestleMania 2004 in New York, and in 2007, he was a part of”The Battle of the Billionaires ” Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 2007. In 2007, Bobby Lashley beat Umaga which resulted in billionaire McMahon’s hair being cut into the middle of the arena.
Trump who was admitted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, has appointed WWE co-founder McMahon’s wife and McMahon’s husband, Linda McMahon, as administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Vince McMahon paid $5 million to a charity run by Trump between the years 2007 and 2009. The payments were matching the Donald Trump’s WWE appearances, although the purpose behind the payments isn’t known, The Wall Street Journal revealed (the payments were revealed after WWE exposed millions of non-related expenses previously unrecorded by McMahon to women who have been accused of sexual misconduct).
The relationship between Trump and UFC and White started more than 20 years ago. Trump himself invited White to host the events in Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City as well as attend both June and May 2001 events from beginning until the end, White said in a 2022 interview with The BBC.
In the 2016 Republican National Convention, White gave a speech praising Trump in the this month, just following the president’s verdict in the hush-money trial His first public appearance following his conviction was at the UFC occasion.
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Key Background
The world of entertainment sports and combat sports converged on during the Republican National Convention on Thursday including Hogan, White and Linda McMahon giving speeches of endorsement to support Donald Trump. In Hogan’s speech in his speech, he made the audience jump up to the stage with many of his well-known wrestling catchy phrases and quips, such as taking off his shirt to reveal his Trump shirt. Before the speech, Hogan declared in an interview with Fox News interview and during his speech that the attempted assassination of Trump was the reason he decided to speak at the convention, describing Trump the president of his “hero” and “what America needs.” Linda McMahon also gave an speech for Trump earlier in the day on Thursday.
Tangent
White’s inaugural speech for Trump is a departure in the pace from Trump’s prior GOP conventions, at which Trump’s spouse Melania and his daughter Ivanka delivered the opening speeches during 2016 as well as 2020 respectively.
Surprising Fact
Despite his unwavering Trump backing, Hulk Hogan endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 but decided to not endorse Hogan for a 2nd term, According to The Washington Post.
Forbes Valuation
We believe that Vince McMahon’s net worth is to be $2.9 billion. McMahon quit WWE–now controlled by the TKO Group earlier this year, following a series of sexual misconduct accusations. The Wall Street Journal says that that federal officials are looking into sexual assault and trafficking accusations against McMahon who has denied all allegations against his. Trump on his own is estimated to be worth $5.9 billion.
Further Reading
ForbesRNC Day 4: Trump Blasts Biden And Nancy Pelosi-Despite Promised ‘Unity’ ThemeBy Sara DornForbesJD Vance Highlights ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Roots-And Praises Trump-In Debut RNC SpeechBy Sara Dorn