Dana White begged Donald Trump to drop out of presidential race after assassination attempt, UFC boss reveals

Dana White is thrilled to spot his person Donald Trump successful the White House, but arsenic the UFC President told Piers Morgan, helium really wanted the Republican campaigner to driblet retired of the contention aft surviving an assassination effort connected the run trail.

'Why are you doing this stuff?' White asked rhetorically connected Piers Morgan Uncensored. 'Stop. I told him to halt truthful galore times. It's conscionable like, 'You person specified a bully life, and you could bash each these different things.' 

According to White, Trump told him: 'I can't quit. You don't ever quit. You ne'er quit.'

'But the happening is, with President Trump is helium believes successful God, and he's precise religious…He believes that, to his core, that God has spared his beingness to beryllium the President and bash the things that he's going to bash implicit the adjacent 4 years.'

The July 13 shooting successful Bethel Park, Pennsylvania claimed the beingness of 1 Trump supporter, Corey Comperatore. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by US Secret Service connected the scene. 

Trump's receptor was scratched during the shooting, resulting successful immoderate bleeding, but the 78-year-old continued connected the run way contempt his injuries - and the warnings from White.  

'I was flying to Italy erstwhile that happened, and my woman woke maine up and said, ''They conscionable changeable President Trump,'' White recalled. 'I was freaking out, texting the family, and erstwhile I landed, I called him, and helium was already location from the infirmary and unfazed. I mean, unfazed, and everybody wants to speech smack.'

White criticized wrestler Dave Bautista for mocking Trump successful the aftermath of the shooting. Bautista has repeatedly challenged Trump supporters' content that the erstwhile world prima is an 'alpha male,' erstwhile saying the billionaire wears 'more constitution than Dolly Parton.' 

'Bautista, the aged wrestler, did this skit connected Trump being anemic and each this worldly that I thought was disgusting and gross,' said White. 'Let maine archer you what Bautista, and anybody other retired there, the mode that Trump reacted to that assassination, each antheral hopes that that's the mode you would react. 

'If you reacted this overmuch to however Trump reacted to that thing, you'd beryllium happy.'

White precocious spoke connected Trump's behalf earlier the inauguration past month. 

He focused the aboriginal portion of his code connected Trump's 312-226 electoral assemblage triumph implicit Kamala Harris and his 1.5-percent borderline successful the fashionable vote.

'Not lone did helium triumph the electoral assemblage by 86 points, but President Trump was the archetypal Republican campaigner successful 20 years to triumph the fashionable vote,' White continued. 'He besides made tremendous gains among accepted Democrat voters by expanding his enactment with Latin, Asian-American, achromatic and young voters. 

'So what does that archer us?' White asked, rhetorically. 'Democracy is live and good successful this country. And the radical person spoke large and clear: America wants President Trump backmost successful the White House.'

White besides portrayed Trump arsenic a leader for overcoming the media, ineligible system, and adjacent an assassin's slug during his campaign.

'Think astir this, winning this predetermination aft everything that's happened implicit the past fewer years is an astonishing accomplishment and an unthinkable comeback story,' White said. 'Think of each the things President Trump had to spell done to get backmost here, each the almighty forces that tried to instrumentality him down: the mainstream media, partisan prosecutors, assassins.

'It's perfectly insane what this antheral has been through. And lone President Trump could person fought done each those obstacles, each the attacks and inactive travel retired the winner.

'But you cognize what?' White continued. 'That's conscionable what helium is. This feline is simply a winner. 

White and Trump's fondness for each different is nary secret. Trump has tapped the UFC President and CEO to talk for him astatine the past 3 Republican National Conventions, starring galore to wonderment if he'd service a greater relation successful the White House astatine immoderate point.

'His basal is Trump's base,' Kellyanne Conway, Trump's erstwhile White House counselor, antecedently told The New York Times of White. 'And Trump's basal is his base.'

White, however, has downplayed immoderate imaginable Trump appointment.

'Donald Trump is 1 of my precise bully friends,' White told Sports Business Journal done a spokesperson. 'He did a large occupation successful his past word arsenic president, and I cognize helium volition bash an adjacent amended occupation the adjacent 4 years. I person nary idiosyncratic governmental aspirations.'

Besides, White whitethorn supply a greater work to Trump done what The New York Times calls 'cage-match politics.' Trump present makes regular cage-side appearances astatine UFC events, wherever combat fans — and the fighters themselves — person showered the erstwhile President with adulation.