Big Number
$250,000. That is the scholarship prize pool for the Patriot Games. The two winning athletes will split the pool in half.
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Chief Critic
Critics have compared the event to “The Hunger Games,” a dystopian novel and film franchise where districts are forced to put forth a boy and a girl for an annual, televised fight-to-the-death competition, in which the lone survivor emerges as champion and is adored as a national hero. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., responded to Trump’s announcement video for the competition on social media, responding with a clip from “The Hunger Games” movie and captioning his post, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
What We Don’t Know
It is unclear what exact challenges the athletes will participate in, though it appears some will be team-based. Freedom 250 says the challenges will be “designed to test strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance while highlighting the values that have helped shape generations of Americans.”
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Key Background
Trump announced the Patriot Games in December, briefly addressing the competition in a video and opposing transgender participation. “I promise there will be no men playing in women’s sports. You’re not going to see that,” he said.” Well before the announcement, Trump said the Patriot Games would be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The event is one of several Trump and Freedom 250 have created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. The White House hosted a UFC fight card on the South Lawn earlier this month. The knockout-filled event was delayed an hour over inclement weather and featured one fighter who made a crude remark about former First Lady Michelle Obama. Trump’s Great American State Fair kicked off this week after most of its scheduled music performers dropped out. The 16-day event has so far hosted sparse crowds and dealt with several technical issues.
Further Reading
Trump’s Great American State Fair Faces Confederate Flag Controversy And Sparse Crowds (Forbes)
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Rogan Praises Trump’s UFC Event—But Doesn’t Address Obama Slur (Forbes)