President Donald Trump brought celebrities, businesspeople, and politicians to the White House lawn on Sunday night for the UFC Freedom 250 fight.
From podcasters such as Joe Rogan to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), prominent names and Trump allies braved the heat wave and mosquito swarms to celebrate the president’s 80th birthday and the country’s 250th anniversary. Here’s who was all there.
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat under the octagonal overhang on Sunday, marking his latest trip to the Trump White House. The Facebook founder spoke with several fighters and met with Trump at the Freedom 250 event.
Zuckerberg has aligned himself with the Trump administration throughout the president’s second term after sparring with Trump prior to the 2024 elections. Zuckerberg and Trump’s relationship has transformed throughout the past decade, going from Meta suspending Trump’s accounts in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots to paying Trump $25 million to settle his lawsuit over the account suspensions.
Since the billionaire and current president made amends, Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, Trump tapped Zuckerberg to serve on his science and technology council, and Zuckerberg attended Trump’s 80th birthday cage match.
Pope Leo XIV’s brother
Louis Prevost, the older brother of Pope Leo XIV, also attended the UFC event on Sunday evening. Prevost is an outspoken Trump supporter who has met administration officials before, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he spoke to during the event.
Prevost has been open about the fact that he has conservative political views and that his brother, the first American pope, is “probably much more liberal” than he is. Prevost’s appearance at Trump’s birthday celebration comes in the wake of a rocky year for his brother and the president. After several public statements and speeches where the pope criticized Trump’s war in Iran, Trump blasted Pope Leo as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
David Ellison
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, attended the UFC fight just days after the Department of Justice gave the green light to his company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The move, set to shake up the media and streaming industry, comes after months of debate among pundits over the massive merger and a monthslong, high-profile bidding war with Netflix.
Ellison, whose father, Larry, is one of Trump’s biggest supporters and also on the technology council with Zuckerberg, celebrated the merger at the cage match on Sunday with the Trump administration.
Trump family
Trump’s family also gathered around the octagon on Sunday night to celebrate the 80-year-old president’s birthday.
The president’s children — Barron Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr. — each attended the cage match. They brought their spouses, including Jared Kushner, Michael Boulos, Lara Trump, and Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Trump, whom he recently married. Several of Trump’s grandchildren, including Kai Trump, also attended the event.
Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials
Many GOP leaders from Washington, D.C., also descended upon the White House lawn on Sunday. Johnson, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) made up the Capitol Hill contingent under the 90-foot overhang.
Administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, FBI Director Kash Patel, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles were also in attendance.
