Recommendations of the Editorial team
Donald Trump is once again using taxpayer money to throw himself a birthday party. Last year there was a sparsely attended military parade on the National Mall. This year, the president wants to see blood: He is hosting an exclusive outdoor UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House that is estimated to cost over $60 million. As the President and his guests enjoy a night of man-on-man action at the White House, Artists and celebrities hold a benefit concert against the American Nero’s personal circus.
“Rise Up Sing Out” takes place on June 14th in New York City and brings together headliners and speakers such as Rufus Wainwright, Bette Midler, Patti Smith and Joy Reid, with accompanying watch parties planned across the country. Ticket proceeds benefit the Committee for the First Amendment, a coalition of celebrities, actors and artists that was founded in the McCarthy era and revived last year.
The group was relaunched by actress and long-time activist Jane Fonda. Her father, actor Henry Fonda, was a vocal opponent of the Hollywood blacklisting of the entertainment industry under pressure from former Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s (R-Wis.) Republican anti-Communist Red Scare. Fonda helped found the committee as a public show of solidarity with the “Hollywood Ten” – ten directors and screenwriters who were found in contempt by Congress after refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Jane Fonda and Town Hall
Jane Fonda will headline the concert, which will take place at New York City’s Town Hall – a 1,500-person auditorium founded by New York suffragettes in the 1920s. (The location is famous for being where Margaret Sanger — the founder of Planned Parenthood — was arrested at a contraception awareness event.) Last year, at 88, Fonda announced the re-establishment of the committee at an ACLU event, declaring that the need for organized protest and arts involvement goes beyond Trump, whom she calls a fascist. “It’s not just Trump. If Trump died, there would be another one like him,” she said.
“We’re past the phase of protests. I mean, protests are good because they remind us that we’re not alone – but the people in the White House are just waiting for us. They don’t care,” she said. “What we have to do now is called non-cooperation.”
The event is also being promoted by organizers of the massive No Kings protests, which in the past have deliberately coincided with Trump-sponsored events – including his 2025 birthday parade.
Indivisible and No Kings
Ezra Levin – co-founder of Indivisible, one of the main organizations behind the No Kings movement – told Rolling Stone that the attention surrounding the UFC event and the fact that it was effectively closed to the public prompted the activist coalition to “get involved in something so that people can focus their attention on something else – ideally something with a pro-democracy approach.”
In a break with longstanding tradition and the boundaries of American ethics laws, the White House event will be packed with corporate sponsors – including Crypto.com, Dodge Ram, Bud Light and Polymarket. Historically, White House ethics officials have always avoided creating the impression that corporations could buy access to the president and his administration through donations and sponsorships – but those standards have been scuttled in the Potomac under Trump.
Reported guests at the UFC event include the Trump family, Jared and Ivanka Kushner, members of Trump’s cabinet, a slew of right-wing celebrities and influencers, and hundreds of military personnel – as long as they meet Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s strict fitness requirements.
Lawsuit against the event
The fights will almost certainly take place on Sunday – but in a final attempt to spoil Trump’s parade, away from the damp and humid weather forecast for Washington DC this weekend, an organization has filed a lawsuit to stop the whole spectacle.
“The most important thing Trump wants now — as always — is for all the attention to be on him,” Levin tells ROLLING STONE. “That’s why he’s throwing himself this birthday party, with a bunch of backers and followers, because he’s always looking to make money with the next trick.”
“I think it’s important that we continue to hammer the message that he obviously only cares about himself – about enriching himself and his mates,” he added. “If we want to stop him, we need to focus on organizing our own communities.”