A video has re-emerged showing Donald Trump’s cabinet nominee Linda McMahon being thrown to the ground during a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event.
It seems that individuals involved in WWE are making their way into the political sphere, or perhaps politicians are now emerging from the world of WWE.
In case it’s not widely known, Donald Trump secured victory in the 2024 presidential election, and Linda McMahon, a co-chair of his transition team, has been nominated as the president-elect’s choice for education secretary.
Trump stated in a press release: “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families. … We will send education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”
If there’s any uncertainty about McMahon’s willingness to ‘fight,’ one only needs to view several old clips of her participating in WWE matches.
Linda McMahon, who co-founded WWE with her husband Vince McMahon, appears in a clip with wrestler Glenn Thomas Jacobs that has been shared on social media.
In the footage, Jacobs performs a move called the tombstone piledriver on McMahon, which is quite as dramatic as its name suggests.
This sequence took place during a Monday Night Raw episode in the early 2000s, where McMahon is lifted and flipped upside down before being dropped to the floor in a staged maneuver, resulting in her feigning unconsciousness.
But the action doesn’t stop there; numerous other clips of Trump’s education secretary nominee interacting in matches with other WWE wrestlers, and even her own children, have surfaced.
Public reactions have been swift.
One Twitter user remarked: “She will be a good choice to shut the dept down.”
Another added, “Only in US politics,” while a third observed, “American, this is the clown show we will have to deal with.”
A fourth comment enthused, “Great! She’s an all-’rounder!”
McMahon previously served as the chief executive of WWE before leaving the position to pursue a political career.
In October, McMahon was named in a lawsuit involving WWE. The suit alleges that she, her husband, and the company were aware of former WWE ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr’s sexual abuse of young boys and failed to intervene.
Linda McMahon’s attorney, Laura Brevetti, told CNN that the lawsuit is “filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon”.
Brevetti asserted: “Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed.”