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Connections
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Connections

The Octagon comes to the White House lawn

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published March 23, 2026 at 4:44 PM EDT
Two men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair, a brown beard and is wearing a brown shirt; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a light blue plaid blazer, white button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes.
George Yeadon
/
WXXI News
Kyle Green with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, March 23, 2026
WXXI News

On President Trump's 80th birthday, the White House will host the first professional sporting event ever staged at the presidential residence.

Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) is staging UFC Freedom 250 — a celebration of not only the president, but the upcoming birthday of the United States.

Trump has become very close with UFC's Dana White, as well as other figures from both UFC and the so-called "manosphere." They include podcasters like the Tate brothers, the Paul brothers, and more.

We discuss the spectacle, the meaning, and the power of the manosphere in the Trump administration.

Our guest:

  • Kyle Green, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Sociology at SUNY Brockport

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams