Former New Jersey Governor and two-time GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie criticized President Donald Trump for hosting a for-profit UFC event on the White House lawn. Christie also blasted Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio for endorsing the event and comparing it to having a man walk on the moon.
[NOTE: “UFC Freedom 250” reportedly cost more than $60 million to produce. UFC CEO Dana White said his company — which is owned by TKO Group Holdings, in which President Trump owns stock — fully funded the production, which had corporate sponsorships from brands including Bud Light and Crypto.com.]
On ABC News’ This Week, Christie, who ran against both Trump and Rubio in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, said he has heard Rubio say “a lot of interesting things” over “the past decade or so,” but that “UFC being comparable to landing a man on the moon” was especially notable. “There’s nothing comparable to it,” Christie said.
Marco Rubio compared UFC to landing a man on the moon. There's nothing comparable to it.
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) June 14, 2026
This is the poison of working for Donald Trump. Every time you get behind a microphone, you've got to figure out a way to kiss his behind. pic.twitter.com/DEL5hMxtsD
[NOTE: In the week leading up to UFC White House event, Rubio promoted it by portraying Dana White’s company as a uniquely American success story. Rubio said: “When President Kennedy announced that we were going to put a man on the moon and return them safely to the earth, no one thought that was possible, and we did it.” Rubio continued: “We are a nation founded on doing what no one else dared to do, and no one else aspired to do,” adding, “and at some level, that’s what this whole company, what UFC, has been.”]
Christie said of Rubio’s statement: “This is the poison of working for Donald Trump. Every time you get behind a microphone, you’ve got to figure out a way to kiss his behind.”
Christie added that President Trump has an “obsession” with the late President Kennedy, “and Marco knows it.” Christie said of Trump: “Anytime he can be mentioned in the same sentence with President Kennedy, his heart swells.”
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