Dave Portnoy calls on Donald Trump to denounce Josh Hokit’s Michelle Obama slur
Dave Portnoy is urging President Donald Trump to break his silence after former first lady Michelle Obama was the target of an offensive insult at the White House.
Despite threats of severe heat and looming thunderstorms, UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, featuring seven fights, has largely been deemed a successful event. But there was one moment that gave credence to UFC Freedom 250 being a divisive event, when fighter Josh Hokit grabbed the microphone during his post-match interview with Joe Rogan and reprehensibly said, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
On Monday morning, Portnoy joined Wake Up Barstool on FS1, where he noted that this was a moment from UFC 250 when Trump needs to set politics aside and condemn Hokit’s comments about the former first lady.
My take on the UFC Freedom 250 pic.twitter.com/QdKCoO486d
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 15, 2026
“There was one moment I do think Trump has to denounce, and anybody associated with it has to denounce,” Portnoy said. “And that’s that crazy fighter guy…he won the fight, he took the microphone, and he made a derogatory comment about Michelle Obama.”
“When you have that on the White House lawn on an event you put on, I don’t care what you think about the Obamas or anything, that has to be an immediate denounce,” Portnoy continued. “I have no problem with the event. I guess you run that risk because these guys are lunatics. But that was the only thing, Trump should denounce it.”
Credit Portnoy, who supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, for addressing the controversy on FS1. On the contrary, ESPN briefly addressed UFC Freedom 250 on Monday morning on First Take, but only spoke glowingly about the event, making no mention of Hokit using his post-fight interview to disparage Michelle Obama by promoting a racist and transphobic conspiracy theory.
Portnoy noted UFC fighters are of a different breed, calling them “crazy” and “idiots,” citing Sean Strickland, who routinely uses his platform to make offensive and ignorant statements. But Portnoy also noted that this comment, coming from a UFC fighter, shouldn’t excuse Trump from having to denounce the statement made about Michelle Obama on the White House lawn Sunday night. This wasn’t just a racist remark that occurred with Trump in attendance; it happened in front of a national audience and on the grounds of one of the most powerful symbols of the nation.
Dana White quickly condemned Hokit’s act of bigotry in a text to TIME’s Sean Gregory, saying he’s against anyone saying “nasty and false things about people’s families.” As of Monday morning, the White House has not responded to requests to comment on Hokit’s offensive remark. And while Trump denouncing the far-right conspiracy might seem like the obvious response, he refused to apologize for posting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes earlier this year.
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