The State Department is deepening the federal government’s official ties to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, effectively vowing to globally promote a company in which President Donald Trump has a financial interest.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio held an event Thursday to sign a memorandum of understanding that authorizes what the State Department is calling “a new public-private partnership to enhance sports diplomacy initiatives and collaborate on the global growth of mixed martial arts.”

Rubio hosted the event with UFC President Dana White, a close Trump ally. And the arrangement reeks of possible corruption.

Financial disclosure forms recently showed that Trump purchased thousands of dollars of stock in TKO, the UFC’s parent company, at the same time he was promoting this weekend’s UFC fights at the White House. The purchases are just one of the reasons plaintiffs suing to stop the event have called it a “volcano of corruption,” as my colleague Jordan Rubin explained.

The White House has called the lawsuit meritless. The case is pending in U.S. District Court.

But the same issue exists with the State Department’s arrangement as well, to say nothing of the labor crisis surrounding the union-busting UFC. I would argue this is ample reason to question this partnership — the fact that Trump holds TKO stock means his administration’s promotion of the UFC could ultimately line his pockets.

It’s one of several brazenly unethical ways Trump and his allies have helped enrich himself and his family during his presidency. And the fact that the State Department is rolling out this latest enrichment effort as Trump’s economy wreaks havoc on Americans’ wallets makes it all the more grotesque.

The post State Department’s deal to promote UFC worldwide raises corruption concerns appeared first on MS NOW.

Just days after saying the United States may “need another 9/11” to convince Democrats to support barring Muslims from participating in politics, Trump ally and a racist conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer traveled with press on a Defense Department trip to Cuba. 

Loomer made her remarks earlier this week when she condemned a video in which Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib defended demonstrators for wearing gas masks to protests against the Trump administration’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown, during which Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement groups have used chemical agents against them.

Here’s Loomer’s quote, as Media Matters reported:

So, I think I’ve given enough evidence and enough examples. Maybe, just maybe, it’s not such a great idea to allow for Muslims to be involved in our political process in America. Maybe. Maybe. But I guess I don’t know. Maybe we need another 9/11 because I guess those clips right there and those people in their own words isn’t going to be enough to convince the Democrats.

In 2024, Trump invited Loomer, who has spread conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to join him at a ceremony memorializing victims of the attack. 

Earlier this week, Loomer announced she would be traveling with the Pentagon press corps on a Defense Department trip to Cuba. The trip comes as Trump and his administration have threatened to invade Cuba.

Loomer’s presence just underscores the extent to which the Defense Department has become a safe haven for extremists, as well as its heightened interest in promoting propaganda at the same time it has taken steps to limit reputable reporting on its activities.

Among the questions Loomer asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, by her own account, was why the government had not executed some Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay. That line of questioning, in addition to her presence on the Pentagon press trip to Cuba, also highlighted the absurdity of the Trump administration’s claim that its counterterrorism strategy is targeting people who promote “anti-American” views, rather than merely an attempt to crack down on liberal groups and organizations.

It’s hard to imagine anything more anti-American than suggesting the U.S. should “need” to endure a scenario similar to one of the worst terrorist attacks in its history, in which thousands died during the attack and in the years following. But a top Trump ally did just that days before the U.S. military brought her on an overseas trip. 

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

The post Before taking Pentagon press trip to Cuba, Loomer said U.S. may ‘need another 9/11’ appeared first on MS NOW.