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Donald Trump Wants Dana White to Speak at the Republican National Convention

Nathan McCarter@McCarterNX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistJune 11, 2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Richmond, Va., Friday, June 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Steve Helber/Associated Press

If Donald Trump has his way, then UFC President Dana White will be speaking at the Republican National Convention in July.

The presumptive Republican nominee for United States President proposed his idea for an evening of sports figures to speak at the convention during a rally in Virginia on Friday, per the New York Times. Trump already has an endorsement from former Indiana head coach Bobby Knight. Trump also claims boxing promoter Don King has endorsed him, but King denies the claim.

While appearing on TMZ Sports in December, White said that Trump would in fact "get my vote."

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

When nobody wanted the UFC, I opened the way by letting them fight at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Dana White has done a great job!

Trump and White have a long history. Trump’s Atlantic City casino, Trump Taj Mahal, played host to the first two events under the Zuffa banner after White, Frank Fertitta and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the company (UFC 30 and 31). Trump would not just host the events, but he would also show up in the crowd in support of the promotion.

There has been nothing conventional about Trump’s campaign thus far, but having a celebrity appear at the Republican National Convention would not be groundbreaking. Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood made a memorable visit to the stage in 2012.

If Trump gets his way and White does show up at the convention, he would beat the UFC to the Quicken Loans Arena by two months.

The UFC is scheduled for its first event in Cleveland, the site of the Republican National Convention, on September 10th. UFC 203 will be headlined by Stipe Miocic defending his heavyweight championship against Alistair Overeem.