'Wait, is this for real?' Senator floored by White House UFC cash grab

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) reacted with open disbelief this week to President Donald Trump's plan to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn while his family hawks commemorative coins off the spectacle.

"Wait, is this for real?" Merkley wrote in a post on X, accusing Trump of spending $60 million to host the bout and then "selling UFC coin to line his family's pockets."

"The Trump corruption swamp is a mile deep," he added.

Merkley's post pointed to a CNN report detailing how Trump's family is moving to profit off Sunday's fight by selling commemorative coins priced as high as $12,000.

According to CNN, the "Freedom 250"-themed silver and gold medallions are stamped with Trump's face and marketed as a collaboration between the UFC and the Trump Organization, the company run by the president's sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. A website hawking the coins bills them as "designed by President Trump" and offers four versions, ranging from a silver piece near $250 to a gold medallion just under $12,000 that comes with a portrait of Trump alongside UFC boss Dana White.

The Trump Organization appears only to be licensing the president's name rather than manufacturing or selling the coins, CNN reported. Even so, the venture marks the latest instance of the family converting his return to the White House into profit, joining licensing deals for phones, fragrances, cryptocurrency and golf courses that have drawn scrutiny over the money the Trumps have made off his presidency.

The White House waved off any conflict-of-interest concerns. Spokesman Davis Ingle told CNN that attempts to "fabricate conflicts of interest" were irresponsible, and insisted Trump acts only in the interest of the American public. The Trump Organization did not respond to the network's request for comment.

Trump has hyped the fight for weeks and personally overseen construction of a towering South Lawn staging area dubbed "The Claw," according to CNN. While the event is being sold as part of the celebration of America's 250th anniversary, it also happens to land on Trump's 80th birthday.

The coin operation, meanwhile, has moved to box out imitators. Its website warns that competing Trump-themed products "might be unlawful" and claims its medallions are the only ones actually authorized by the president.