After months of ‘bromantic’ togetherness, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are at outs with each other. In the midst of their crumbling friendship, the US president ditched his usual company of the billionaire Tesla boss as Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White’s guest of honour attending the Saturday night UFC 316 in Newark. The Republican leader’s recent outing instantly rounded up yesteryear memories of him attending a prior UFC event in Miami with his once-‘First Buddy’ Musk.

Following weeks of sparring with the Space X boss, Trump was welcomed at The Prudential Center in Newark by roaring cheer and a rousing ovation just before the main match-up of the night. The New Jersey crowd’s warm reception of the US president ultimately went viral online, with even an official UFC sharing the visuals on social media.

UFC 316 erupts with ‘USA’ chants as Donald Trump walks out amid Los Angeles riots

“How about THAT for an entrance?” @UFCEurope wrote on X, attaching scenes of thunderous applause Donald Trump was treated to as he walked into the arena beside Dana White. “The bossman takes his seat alongside Donald Trump,” the post added. While mostly avoiding hand shakes from the audience, the 47th POTUS waltzed down a clear path in his usual style while busting the same move he was often seen pulling off during his election campaign as he danced to the Village People’s “YMCA” on several occasions.

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Although his perceived favourite track wasn’t playing at the UFC event on Saturday, Trump again raised his clenched fists in the air and continued pumping them back and forth as he walked towards the fighting cage. The same moves, now dubbed as the “Donald Trump dance,” were previously also embraced by a number of athletes during their own celebratory sports moments. As Trump came close to the main stage of the night, he was seen shaking hands with podcasters. At one point, he was even pictured greeting Mike Tyson.

Who was there with Trump (minus Elon Musk)?

Although an Elon Musk-shaped void was evident during the POTUS’ UFC visit, it didn’t mean that he came without the rest of his entourage. In addition to Trump ally Dana White being by his side, the MAGA leader’s son, Eric, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were also in attendance. Moreover, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on hand as well, as he was spotted enthusiastically bumping fists with the prez at UFC 316.

As for where the Elon Musk Donald Trump relationship stands, the former has since deleted his “Trump is in the Epstein Files” tweet. However, plans of reconciliation seem far-fetched now that the president warned him of “serious consequences” if he thinks of switching sides back to Democrats and supporting them in the next elections.

“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “You know, I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him.”

Donald Trump’s UFC 316 appearance came to the forefront while headlines about Los Angeles reeling from riots amid immigration crackdown continued climbing the trends. The president’s name also made waves on that front his Newark outing aligned with reports of him deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to quell the unrest over raids connected with undocumented migrants.

Internet debates over viral Trump UFC entrance amid Los Angeles protests

“President Trump just walked out at UFC 316 with Dana White as the crowd loses its mind,” conservative political activist Charlie Kirk tweeted on X. “Los Angeles rioters would do well to remember just how popular the President’s American First agenda is.”

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A Trump fan similarly wrote: “Trump arrives at UFC 316 in Newark New Jersey after deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles to crush the rioters. We are so back.” Another took to X, wondering how crossing off both task simultaneously was possible. “So Donald Trump is calling in the National Guard while cage side at a UFC fight? Is he doing that via text or…?” he questioned.

Someone else commented on Trump’s sojourn sans Musk: “Trump attending UFC 316 without Musk is a must seen.”

On the other side of the debate, users criticised the POTUS for strolling down a UFC arena despite the life-threatening visuals coming in from Los Angeles. “Trump going to UFC while LA is fighting for its life. You all elected a f***ing clown,” a user tweeted. A second critic added, “Trump at a UFC match as he declares war against people of the Untied States.” They echoes the same sentiments as California Governor Gavin Newsom, who hours ago, broke silence on the issue.

“As the federal government conducts chaotic immigration sweeps across the country, the state is deploying additional CHP to maintain safety on Los Angeles highways to keep the peace. It’s not their job to assist in federal immigration enforcement,” he posted via X. “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves.”

In a follow-up tweet, he called out the federal government deploying 2,000 soldiers as a reflection of its need to create a “spectacle” out of the situation.