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Why the White House cage match could backfire

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  Support our nonprofit journalism   June 4, 2026 Did the Ultimate Fighting Championship help elect Donald Trump? It sounds absurd, but dig into the history of the UFC and the alliance between its CEO and our now-president, and it becomes clear that the organization was a critical player in MAGA's appeal to young men, with its harsh bravado and increasing willingness by UFC fighters to parrot the anti-immigrant, anti-trans, bullying smack talk of Trump. In turn, UFC transcended its fringe beginnings and now enjoys mainstream popularity. But will the upcoming White House card end up hurting UFC in the long run? I explored the question in a piece today, where Kyle Green, a sociologist who writes on the intersection of sports and politics, warned that there are limits to the power and wealth White has amassed through his friendship with Trump.  There’s also a reason why White is so keen, these days, to claim that he’s apolitical and, as he recently told the New Yorker’ s David...
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Suing to find out if FBI Director Kash Patel misused government resources to go party at Olympics

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  Earlier this year — in a video that went viral worldwide — FBI Director Kash Patel was captured drinking beer with (and spraying beer on) members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after they won gold at the Olympics. Patel, who is known to be a hockey fan, claimed that he was in Italy on official FBI business. Two quick points: 1. Partying with athletes in locker rooms has not historically been considered among the duties of FBI directors (or any other government officials, for that matter). 2. The Trump regime does not exactly have the best reputation when it comes to telling the truth. Back in February, Public Citizen launched an investigation to find out whether Patel misused government resources to go party at the Olympics. Under the Freedom of Information Act, we demanded records related to Patel’s trip, such as his official itinerary, receipts, and any meeting agendas. By law, the federal government is generally supposed to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests within ...
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The Hound | June 4

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  Hi there, It’s Thursday. Donald Trump is trying to seize control of science funding, pursuing rule changes to allow for greater political influence over federal research grants. In Iowa, Trump’s primary winning streak came to an end where his endorsed candidate, Rep. Randy Feenstra narrowly lost to Zach Lahn, a businessman. And Donald Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte to oversee the nation’s intelligence apparatus deserves far more scrutiny than it has received. Pulte is not merely a nominee for a powerful position—he is a Trump loyalist poised to oversee surveillance authorities and intelligence tools that carry enormous implications for civil liberties, political dissent, and democratic accountability. Too much media coverage treats Pulte’s nomination as a personnel change rather than examining the broader risks. Reporting has often focused on political maneuvering while overlooking questions about whether intelligence agencies could be used to target perceived enemies, reward al...
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