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President Donald Trump has suggested that “The Claw” — an enormous structure presently on the South Lawn of the White House, meant to serve as the arena for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on his birthday — could remain a permanent fixture on the grounds.
In a video he posted on TikTok on Wednesday, Trump compared The Claw to the Eiffel Tower, the Parisian landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“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, we sort of like it, let’s leave it up a little bit longer. … Well, they never took it down,” Trump said.
The Eiffel Tower was indeed meant to be a temporary structure, but Trump’s remarks aren’t entirely accurate. Before it was decided that the tower would become a permanent landmark in Paris, it was intended to stand for a minimum of 20 years before being taken down.
We’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. … And I’m looking at [The Claw], and maybe we’ll never, ever take it down.
The Claw becoming a permanent fixture on the White House South Lawn would pose logistical problems.
The structure, which has 90-foot-tall steel arches that extend beyond the height of the White House itself, is meant to house the UFC Freedom 250 fighting event that will coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday on June 14. The construction of The Claw has disrupted the usual process for Trump and others to enter and exit the White House grounds, and its continued presence there would require longer term solutions.
Critics have denounced the structure as an eyesore that looks out of place in front of the historic White House.
Meanwhile, the bout itself is being viewed as a potential conflict of interest for Trump. In the weeks preceding the event, Trump invested between $15,000 and $50,000 in TKO Holdings Group, the parent company of UFC. Although the event has been planned for months, it’s possible that TKO’s stock will rise as the date approaches — and as Trump promotes it online.
“Grifting has always been an issue in Donald Trump’s presidency, but now the mask is off,” Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said last week. “Using the White House to promote a company whose stock you bought while promoting it is one of the worst conflicts of interest you could imagine.”
“The agenda of this administration seems to start and stop with how to make Donald Trump richer,” Libowitz added.
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