Donald Trump is wasting no time in beginning his fight to get back into the White House.
The 77-year-old presumptive Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to attend a UFC fight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night, two days after his shock guilty verdict in a Manhattan “hush money” trial. According to the Wall Street Journal:.
It was his first public appearance since vowing “we’re going to fight” at a fiery news conference in the atrium of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan on Friday.
The mixed martial arts card at UFC 302 will feature 12 bouts, led by a matchup between the world’s No. 1-ranked lightweight contender, Islam Makhachev, and the No. 4-ranked contender, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.
The former president has close ties with UFC president Dana White. He told Deadline in February The two have been friends for 20 years.
“He’s a martial arts fan,” he said. He’s always been a martial arts fan.”
In March, the former president sat cageside with his eldest daughter, Ivanka, at UFC 299 in Florida.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Trump vowed to appeal, calling the legal fight “honorable” and saying “we’re fighting for the Constitution.”
The charges relate to $130,000 in “hush money” paid by Trump’s former “fixer” lawyer Michael Cohen to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a one-night stand she had with Trump.
Since the ruling, Trump’s fundraising has skyrocketed, with his campaign bragging that it raised about $53 million online in 24 hours.
He is expected to continue fundraising activities around California next week, including attending a fundraising dinner hosted by tech investors David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya in San Francisco. According to Fox News.
