Donald Trump’s plans for a White House birthday celebration tied to UFC Freedom 250 were disrupted on Sunday night after severe weather forced a delay to the outdoor event.
The mixed martial arts card on the South Lawn is being billed as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations and marks Trump’s 80th birthday on Sunday, June 14, 2026. The event was set to feature seven fights in a temporary arena built at the White House, with a separate public watch party planned at the Ellipse.
But with a severe thunderstorm watch covering parts of Washington, D.C., and nearby states until 11 p.m. local time, organisers pushed back the start time by an hour in the hope that conditions would improve.
NBC News reported that the fights are now set to begin at 9 p.m. local time instead of the originally scheduled 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service warned that the storm system could bring intense conditions, including hail as large as ping-pong balls, wind gusts of up to 70mph, and frequent lightning.
The weather alert stretches across the District of Columbia as well as Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, potentially affecting around 12.8 million people.
That forecast could have had a major impact on attendance, although the White House Rapid Response team said earlier in the day that festivities would continue ‘rain or shine’ and that there were no plans to cancel.
More than 4,000 people are expected to attend the event itself, while another 120,000 are believed to be heading to a watch party at the Ellipse, the large park just south of the White House.
The UFC event has also drawn unusual scrutiny because it is being staged on the grounds of the White House, making it one of the most closely watched sports spectacles ever hosted at the presidential residence. The temporary structure on the South Lawn has been described as a towering cage-fight arena and has been a focal point of preparations all week.
Despite the storm threat, many supporters still appeared ready to attend.
UFC Freedom 250 is facing a chaotic weather setup on the White House South Lawn, with a 60% chance of thunderstorms, heavy downpours, and wind gusts up to 34 mph threatening to delay the outdoor fights. On top of the storm risk, brutal D.C. humidity is driving a triple-digit heat… pic.twitter.com/3tZWmyRCHx
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June 14, 2026
For now, the event has only been delayed. However, The Weather Channel noted that if lightning is detected within eight miles of the White House South Lawn, it would trigger an “automatic 30-minute freeze” on proceedings.
The weather setback comes against the backdrop of continued attention on a number of Trump’s public remarks, several of which have drawn criticism or confusion.
When speaking at the White House in June, the president told reporters: “You know what I really love? I love the inflation.”
For context, the US’ current inflation rate sits at a hefty 4%, the highest rate since April 2023.
When asked by a reporter at Easter how it isn’t a war crime to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants, Trump responded: “Because they killed 45,000 people in the last month. They kill protesters. They are animals, and we have to stop them.”
In a June 2026 press conference, Trump said when being questioned on the shaky ceasefire with Iran: “It’s a different part of the world, you know. I’d say in that part a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”
Q: How would it not be a war crime to strike Iran's bridges and power plants?
TRUMP: Because they killed 45,000 in the last month. They kill protesters. They are animals. pic.twitter.com/y3MvHyBLnI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2026
Another moment that prompted backlash came during a March 2026 press briefing with Japanese prime minster Sanae Takaichi.
After a Japanese journalist asked why the US had not informed allies about its plans to attack Iran, Trump said America ‘went in very hard’ and ‘didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise’.
He then said: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?”
While some US officials reportedly laughed, the room then fell quiet after Trump followed it up by saying to Sanae: “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?”
Earlier in 2025, Trump was also asked by the New York Post whether he intended to remove Prince Harry from the US amid scrutiny over the royal’s immigration status.
His answer was: “I don’t want to do that. I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife,” he said. “She’s terrible.”
Before a 2025 Oval Office meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived wearing a black long-sleeved polo shirt bearing the Ukrainian trident, having previously said he would not wear a suit again until Russia’s invasion had ended.
As he greeted him, Trump said: “Oh look, you’re all dressed up.”
Trump also faced criticism during the dispute over Greenland, when he argued that Denmark did not have the ‘right’ to the territory.
Greenland is, however, a self-governing autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and has been connected to Denmark for centuries.
During his March 2025 address to Congress, Trump further raised eyebrows when he claimed the Biden administration had spent $8 million on ‘transgender mice’ experiments.
PBS later reviewed the statement and said the claim was false, with PBS News Hour White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López stating that ‘the idea that scientists are making mice transgender is false’.
“These experiments were studying the effects of gender-affirming hormones on asthma and on whether gender-affirming hormones increase breast cancer risk,” Barrón-López explained.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump also sparked alarm with comments about using extreme police force to stamp out crime.
Addressing supporters in Erie, Pennsylvania, he said: “One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately,”
At another point in the same campaign, he went after then-vice president Kamala Harris, telling the crowd: “We have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore. We can’t stand you, you’re a s**t vice president. The worst.”