The White House South Lawn has been the site of everything from tee-ball games to Easter egg hunts, and this June 14, the grassy expanse will host seven UFC matches, including two title fights.
The White House and UFC are hosting the UFC Freedom 250 to kickoff celebrations for America’s 250th birthday. It’s also the same day as President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
UFC president and CEO Dana White is a longtime Trump friend and supporter, with their relationship tracing back to White running his very first fight at the Trump Taj Mahal in 2001. TIME magazine reported in May that Trump and White began discussing the White House event days after the 2024 presidential election. It wasn’t until July 3, 2025, however, that Trump publicly announced his desire to stage a UFC card on the South Lawn.
The showdown is expected to cost over $60 million, according to documents from a lawsuit filed by two Virginian residents who say it is a profit-driven venture on federal grounds. A judge on June 12 rejected the residents’ request to stop the event.
In light of the mixed martial arts event happening on Trump’s birthday, PolitiFact looked back at ways other presidents marked their birthdays.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Birthday Ball
Starting in 1934, the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation organized the Birthday Ball — on Roosevelt’s birthday — to raise money to treat polio patients. Roosevelt initially went to the Georgia Warm Springs resort to seek treatment for his own polio, and eventually purchased the facility. He transformed it into a polio rehabilitation and treatment site, and for many years it was the only hospital in the world devoted to solely treating polio.
The “Dance So That Others May Walk” celebrations ranged from small town square dances at local churches to a centerpiece gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. Fresh off the repeal of prohibition, champagne flowed, a tiered 28-foot wide birthday cake sat on display, and high profile guests, including Albert Einstein and Rudy Vallee, attended. That night, FDR said on the radio: “This is the happiest birthday I have ever known.”
The Birthday Balls continued annually until Roosevelt’s 1945 death.
John F. Kennedy: Madison Square Garden Salute
In 1962, Arthur Krim, the part owner of United Artists and head of the Democratic Party Financing Committee, hosted a 45th birthday party for Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, in collaboration with the White House. The New York City festivities began with a Four Seasons dinner that cost $1,000 per seat. The main event, the Madison Square Garden Salute, followed with approximately 15,000 attendees, and included performances from Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Shirley MacLaine and Henry Fonda.
It was inexplicitly a political fundraiser, and Kennedy acknowledged that the proceeds paid off the $4 million debt his and Harry Truman’s 1960 campaign had accumulated for the Democratic Party. The most memorable part of the night was Marilyn Monroe’s closing “Happy birthday, Mr. President,” as two five feet cakes, each with 45 blue candles, paraded the arena. Kennedy discarded his prepared speech, which largely constituted policy plans and attacks on Republicans and instead embraced the birthday celebrations, according to reporting from The Forum at the time.
Ronald Reagan: Press Briefing surprise
First Lady Nancy Reagan surprised Ronald Reagan for his 72th birthday with a cake and ballad during a 1983 press briefing. As he spoke about defense spending increasing amidst a budget freeze, reporters laughed as Nancy Reagan brought the cake into the room. The reporters sang Happy Birthday. The cake was cut and offered, with a reporter — it’s unclear who from the video —saying: “You understand we won’t sell out for a piece of cake.”
Barack Obama: Basketball game with NBA stars
Obama spent his 49th-birthday weekend playing basketball with NBA stars, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Magic Johnson.. Held at a Fort McNair gym, the event was open only to troops injured in action and participants in the White House Mentoring Program. Although no press attended the event, Obama told Basketball Network he “hit a couple of threes, made a spin move, and threw an alley-oop to Dwyane Wade.”
PolitiFact Staff Writer Alex Min contributed to this story.
