By Grant Fredericks — The LeClaire Report
The root failure of American politics, according to WA-5 congressional candidate Nate Powell, is that “it has turned everything into a game or a sport, just fighting against the other side, the other team.” Both parties, he says, “block each other and fight each other.”1 In another video he stresses, “They say America is broken. I see it burning.” His words are the voiceover for his campaign video. The images supporting his words show him inside a mixed martial arts cage, slamming an opponent to the canvas.2
From the Cage to Congress
Powell presents his record as a mixed martial artist as part of his qualification for office. “I was an MMA fighter,” he says in the video. “I went undefeated in the cage.”3 Spokane Boxing Gym LLC endorsed his campaign.4
The stage is set. The rhetoric, the imagery, and the candidacy present physical aggression as a political virtue.
It’s In the Blood
On March 5, 2026, President Trump used the same credential as qualification for his cabinet. He announced on Truth Social that Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would become Secretary of Homeland Security. “A MAGA Warrior,” Trump wrote, “and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda.”5 Mullin was sworn in on March 24.6
Three years earlier, during a Senate committee hearing, Mullin stood, appeared to remove his wedding ring, and challenged Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to a fistfight. Senator Bernie Sanders gaveled him down. “Sit down,” Sanders said. “You’re a United States senator. This is a hearing.”7
The Arena
Since 1878, the South Lawn of the White House has hosted the Easter Egg Roll, one of the nation’s oldest public traditions on executive grounds, where every spring the Republic has opened its gates to children.8 On May 26, 2026, construction crews began ripping out the South Lawn and erecting in its place an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) octagon.9 Trump promotes the event as “the greatest show on earth.”10 Reuters described the construction as a “cage-fighting arena”.11 The bouts are scheduled for June 14, Flag Day and the President’s 80th birthday.12
The current fight card lists seven bouts.13 Approximately 4,000 spectators will be ticketed within the arena, with an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 viewers nearby on the Ellipse.14 Paramount+ will broadcast the spectacle live as part of a $7.7 billion contract with the UFC.15
On the South Lawn, spectators will gather to watch men strike one another with fists, elbows, knees and feet; to watch bodies slammed to the canvas; to watch blood drawn by blows; to watch chokeholds tightened until an opponent submits or loses consciousness. This is the spectacle chosen to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
For generations, Americans have used the South Lawn to project something about the country to itself and to the world: ceremony, continuity, public ritual, children gathering on the grass behind the White House.
This year, on Flag Day, the grounds will serve as a gladiatorial arena.
The symbolism is the message.
In campaign videos, Senate hearings, and now on the South Lawn itself, the language and imagery of violence have increasingly moved into American political life.
When Violence Becomes Character
Voters in Eastern Washington are being asked whether the qualities that win physical fights are the same qualities that should govern a democracy.
When he announced his candidacy to Washington’s Fifth Congressional District seat, he stated, “I have a theory of violence.”16
Fighting is not merely part of Nate Powell’s biography. It is part of his political message.
Endnotes
1. Nate Powell for Congress, campaign video, Facebook reel. https://www.facebook.com/reel/939925945479414
2. Nate Powell for Congress, campaign video.
3. Nate Powell for Congress, campaign video.
4. Nate Powell for Congress, endorsement announcement, Facebook, April 18, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122119848513211327&set=a.122108182971211327
5. Donald J. Trump, Truth Social post, March 5, 2026; corroborated by Sports Politika, March 2026.
6. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, March 24, 2026. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/03/24/us-senate-confirms-markwayne-mullin-secretary-department-homeland-security
7. CNBC, GOP Sen. Mullin challenges Teamsters boss to fight at Senate hearing: Stand your butt up, November 14, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/14/stand-your-butt-up-gop-sen-mullin-challenges-teamsters-boss-to-fight-at-senate-hearing.html
8. White House Historical Association, History of the White House Easter Egg Roll. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-backgrounders/history-of-the-white-house-easter-egg-roll
9. ABC News, Construction underway on UFC octagon at the White House, May 2026. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/construction-underway-ufc-octagon-white-house-flag-day/story?id=133316489
10. ms.now, UFC Freedom 250 fight at the White House, 2026. https://www.ms.now/news/ufc-freedom-250-fight-white-house-trump-dana-white
11. Reuters, Construction of cage-fighting arena transforms White House grounds, Jacob Bogage, May 27, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/construction-cage-fighting-arena-transforms-white-house-grounds-2026-05-27/
12. CNN, Trump UFC event at the White House, May 28, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/28/us/trump-white-house-ufc-cage-cec
13. Paramount+, UFC at the White House: Where to Watch, 2026. https://www.paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/where-to-watch-white-house-ufc/
14. Reuters, Trump suggests he may keep the UFC arena at the White House, June 3, 2026. https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-06-03/trump-says-maybe-well-never-ever-take-down-ufc-arena-on-white-house-lawn
15. CNBC, Paramount buys UFC rights in Skydance merger, August 11, 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/11/paramount-buys-ufc-rights-skydance-merger.html
16. Nate Powell, presentation, Spokane, December 20, 2025,
Cook Report has CD-5 likely Republican, +5 factoring in the latest polling and candidate landscape. The last time we all voted for our Democrat of choice, the current occupant won by over 20 points. A lot has changed, but not that much: the rural areas and moderate swing votes still have a gag reflex when it comes to Democrats. There are lots of reason for this and some of them even have a whiff of truth but the fact of the matter is, a D-labelled candidate in this district still has a steep uphill battle. An Independent like Nate Powell has an easier road to victory in November. I hope that is Nate emerges as one of the top 2 in August, you’ll get behind him and support him in November. I will certainly do the same should the opponent happen to have a D associated with their name. The goal is winning in November and checking MAGA so let’s all unite after Aug 4th.
Cook Report has CD-5 likely Republican, +5 factoring in the latest polling and candidate landscape. The last time we all voted for our Democrat of choice, the current occupant won by over 20 points. A lot has changed, but not that much: the rural areas and moderate swing votes still have a gag reflex when it comes to Democrats. There are lots of reason for this and some of them even have a whiff of truth but the fact of the matter is, a D-labelled candidate in this district still has a steep uphill battle. An Independent like Nate Powell has an easier road to victory in November. I hope that is Nate emerges as one of the top 2 in August, you’ll get behind him and support him in November. I will certainly do the same should the opponent happen to have a D associated with their name. The goal is winning in November and checking MAGA so let’s all unite after Aug 4th.