As his feud with tech billionaire and former MAGA darling Elon Musk exploded into public view this week, the White House says President Donald Trump is planning to attend a UFC event in New Jersey this weekend.
The event, UFC 316, is slated for Saturday, June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The president is scheduled to depart the White House for his golf club in New Jersey Friday afternoon, according to his official schedule, and return to the White House Sunday night.
Musk has been high-profile guest for some of Trump’s previous visits to the octagon, but the pair had a public falling-out this week after Musk’s departure from the Trump administration.
The Trump-Musk fight took off this week when Musk called for Republicans to kill the House-passed tax bill that is a signature part of the second-term president’s legislative agenda, calling it a “disgusting abomination.” Two days later, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on June 5 that he was “very disappointed” with Musk and suggested their “great relationship” was over.
In response, Musk took to social media shortly afterward to blast the president, saying Trump wouldn’t have won a second term and Republicans would have fared worse in elections in both chambers of the U.S. Congress were it not for his efforts on the 2024 campaign trail, where he poured a quarter of a million dollars into Trump’s campaign. The tussle escalated in a back-and-forth between the two men, with Trump suggested going after Musk’s companies and their federal contracts, and Musk alleging that Trump’s name was in the Justice Department’s files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The pair’s most recent fight appearance was in April, when Trump and Musk sat ringside at UFC 314 in Miami. The president has long attended UFC events, as CEO Dana White was a prominent supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
When is UFC 316?
UFC 316, which is headlined by Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, is set to take place at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main card is available for pay-per-view on ESPN.
Contributing: Riley Beggin, Sudiksha Kochi and Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump to attend UFC 316 in NJ amid feud with Elon Musk