Donald Trump appeared at UFC 302 and drew roaring cheers from fans waiting for the main event, which will see Dustin Poirier challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship, on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Trump entered the arena accompanied by UFC president Dana White and stopped briefly to greet comedian Theo Von. Trump shook hands with several fans and waved to the crowd.
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Donald Trump was photographed attending the UFC 302 event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 1, 2024. (Jeff Botali/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The former president then took up position just outside the UFC Octagon, ready to watch the main card.
It was one of Trump’s first public appearances since being found guilty on all charges in his New York criminal trial on Thursday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“This is a disgrace. This was a rigged trial, a rigged, disgraceful, rigged trial with a conflicting interest judge. A change of venue was not granted,” Trump said after the trial. “This district, this area, has a 5-6% approval rating. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.”
“The real verdict will be given by the American people on November 5th,” Trump said.
Former President Donald Trump (center right) smiles at Dana White (front row left) during an appearance at the UFC 302 mixed martial arts event on Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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“They know what happened here, everybody knows what happened here,” Trump said, “There’s a Soros-backed district attorney and all of that.”
He added: “We have done nothing wrong. I am a completely innocent man. That’s fine. I am fighting for my country. I am fighting for the Constitution. The whole country is being rigged right now.”
Trump said the lawsuit was “filed by the Biden administration to hurt their enemies, their political opponents.”
“I think this is just a disgrace. We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to fight to the end and we’re going to win, because our country has gone to hell,” he said. “Our country is not the same anymore. We’re a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline. We’re in deep decline.”
“Right now, we have millions of people coming into our country from our prisons and our mental hospitals as terrorists, and they’re trying to take over our country. We have a big problem,” Trump said.
Donald Trump looks up during the UFC 302 event at the Prudential Center on June 1, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Jeff Botali/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“But this has been an unjust decision from day one, by a conflicted judge who should never have been allowed to try this case. It should never have been allowed,” he said. “We will fight for the Constitution. This case is far from over.”
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Trump is a semi-regular at UFC events and is close friends with White, who spoke in support of Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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