Donald Trump’s Violent Birthday Bash

As President Trump prepares to host UFC cage fights on the White House lawn to celebrate 250 years of American democracy and his own 80th birthday, viewers who dig displays of domination will be exhilarated. But why stop at blood sport?The ratings could be higher if Trump added even more provocative spectacles. Have J. D. Vance sit in a dunk tank in the Rose Garden where any Mar-a-Lago member can have a throw! Have a Twinkie-eating contest in the Situation Room! And given that the UFC is already doing weigh-ins right there at the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool is newly painted, why not throw a spring-break-style rager for the overflow crowd? After all, industrial-grade foam cannons cost less than $3,000.You’ve probably guessed that my own preference is no vulgar entertainment at the White House, but not because I don’t enjoy any forms of it or wish to sneer at fans of UFC. It’s my preference for the same reason that I’d gladly gamble on a Saturday night at a basement poker table but not on Sunday morning at a church altar: There are times and places for things.Most presidents have tried to maintain decorum at their residence, knowing the White House is a symbol of the United States and that its gravitas is the work of generations. White House events needn’t be fancy or cater to elites in order to be appropriate. The venue belongs to champion Little League teams as much as it belongs to the winner of the Masters, as much to bluegrass bands as to classical cellists. But there’s a difference between popular entertainment and what Trump is planning, which many citizens find distasteful—and is thus unsuited for a jubilee meant to unite us.Trump isn’t known to prioritize respectability arguments or appeals to civic virtue. In fact, you might expect all sorts of vulgar entertainment from a former casino and beauty-pageant owner, if entertainment were the only purpose. But like a Roman emperor presiding over combat at the Colosseum, Trump hosting a cage fight serv