Topline
Eric Trump and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier both denied the president’s son ever asked Cormier if any fights in last night’s White House UFC event would be rigged, after Cormier’s X account posted—then quickly deleted—screenshots appearing to show the exchange.
Key Facts
The posts in question show Eric Trump sending a direct message on Instagram to Cormier asking if he was placing any bets in the fights and for inside information, including if any of the matches were rigged or if any of the fighters were injured.
“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent. . . I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior,” Cormier captioned the screenshots.
Eric Trump quickly denied he ever sent the messages, writing, “This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary,” reposting another user who screenshotted the post on Cormier’s account before it was deleted.
Eric Trump posted at least three more denials on X, claiming the posts were “AI generated” and that Cormier “has since deleted his post, which confirms it was clearly fabricated.”
Cormier, a retired UFC fighter, also seemed to suggest the posts were fake, writing “are people really this dumb?” in a post on X.
Cormier denied he wrote the post in an interview with video journalist Nicholas Ballasy outside the White House event on Sunday, claiming the purported Instagram messages were “not real” and that he “got hacked or something,” suggesting they were posted to his X account, but not by him.
Crucial Quote
“That is absolutely not me. I didn’t even know who the guy was . . . this is some kind of AI spoof. This is crazy,” Eric Trump told the Wall Street Journal.
Chief Critic
Trump Organization spokesperson Kimberly Benza said “these screenshots are fake” in a post on X, adding, “They were fabricated and do not reflect reality. This is one of the dangers of AI-generated content: false information can spread quickly when people don’t verify what they’re seeing. Please do better before sharing misinformation.”
Key Background
Eric Trump was among several Trump family members in attendance at Sunday’s UFC fight on the White House lawn. First Lady Melania Trump, Trump sons Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and granddaughter Kai Trump were also there. Trump’s family business apparatus has a stake in prediction markets. Donald Trump Jr. is a paid adviser to Kalshi and investor in Polymarket. President Trump’s social media company also announced last year it would launch its own prediction market, Truth Predict, in partnership with Crypto.com to allow Truth Social users to make trades.
further reading
UFC At White House: Fighter Makes Crude Remarks About Michelle Obama After Win (Forbes)