UFC’s Dana White shares phone conversation with Donald Trump after recent assassination attempt

UFC CEO Dana White spoke with former U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone just hours after a gunman attempted to assassinate him at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump was in the middle of a speech at a campaign rally in Butler, PA on Saturday when a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, striking the former president in the right ear. U.S. Secret Service eliminated the suspected gunman,  Thomas Matthew Crooks, within seconds of the shooting.

Trump was then treated at a local hospital for the wound to his ear and suffered minor injuries as the U.S. Secret Service team swarmed him at the podium.  One spectator was killed, and two were badly injured, in the shooting.

Dana White praises ‘American badass’ Donald Trump

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, White addressed Trump’s near-assassination.

“[Trump] was never going to UFC Denver, I was on a plane to Italy. He wouldn’t go to the UFC unless I was there, number one,” White said. “Number two, I’ve been saying this forever about this guy. He is one of the toughest, most resilient human beings that I have ever met in my life…everybody wants to act like a tough guy, right? Everybody wants to act like a tough guy. When the s*** goes down, you find out who tough guys are and are not…

“This guy is the legitimate, ultimate American badass of all time. The guy takes a shot at him, he goes down, stands up, and starts chanting to the crowd ‘Fight, fight, fight!’. I literally was blown away. I called him as soon as I landed, and he answered, he was already home from the hospital and talked for like 30 minutes. I’ve never known a human being like this in my life.”

White and Trump have been close friends for years, stemming from Trump’s early support of the UFC. Many of the promotion’s early events were hosted at Trump’s casinos and properties.

As of this writing, the attempted assassination of Trump remains under investigation.