Getty UFC's Jorge Masvidal and President Donald J. Trump
President Donald J. Trump’s impeachment trial may have delayed UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal’s planned visit to the White House, but the 35-year-old from Miami still intends to make the trip as soon as scheduling lines up.
“That is coming up,” Masvidal told Heavy. “The impeachment and stuff slowed things down, but that is coming up. We will be visiting Mr. Trump.”
Trump attended UFC 244 in November to see Masvidal defeat Nate Diaz via third-round stoppage. Masvidal revealed after the fight to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole that he had been invited by the president to visit the White House for his winning effort.
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Masvidal Purposely Mum on Personal Political Opinions
Masvidal said visiting with the president at the White House whenever it ultimately happens has nothing to do with his personal political views. In fact, the fighter said he preferred to keep those thoughts and opinions to himself.
“I mean, obviously, I have political views and I have a lot of crazy thoughts that go over in my mind,” Masvidal said. “But I keep that to myself or to my inner circle.”
Masvidal’s reasoning seems sound, especially in this age of social media where it seems like everyone in the world is all about sharing their personal political views with anyone who will listen to them. But that’s just not Masvidal’s style.
“I don’t really like to dabble in politics,” Masvidal said.
Why Masvidal Stays In His Lane Publicly (Which Is Fighting)
“In a way, a big part of me feels that, it’s funny to say this, but my opinion, my voice is almost too strong that I don’t want to opinionate on something like that because I’m not an expert,” Masvidal said.
Moreover, the UFC’s first-ever “BMF” champ said he was an expert at fighting, not politics, so there was no reason for him to share his personal views. The fighter said he thinks doing such a thing might actually do more harm than good, particularly because he is a celebrity.
“And my reach, my word, goes way too far that I just don’t need to be talking about politics unless I’m thoroughly, thoroughly educated on it, which I’m not,” Masvidal said.
Still, Masvidal said he was excited about being invited to the White House by President Trump no matter what else was going on or what others might think about his opportunity.
“So I don’t like to talk about politics,” Masvidal said. “I will state, it is a badass experience that an individual like me, that comes from immigrant parents, gets to go to the White House.”
Masvidal Sees Powerful Messaging in White House Visit
While Masvidal didn’t want to get into his personal political views, the UFC’s King of Swag did say he believed going there would be a big enough message on its own.
“And no matter how you look at the situation, I’m a Latin individual,” Masvidal said. “I’m from Miami, Florida. I didn’t speak English until I was like 11, 12 years old. So there’s a lot of powerful messaging that goes on in that.”
Masvidal’s father was a Cuban immigrant and his mother is of Columbian descent. The fighter said being invited to the White House was something he felt honors both him and his community.
“It’s a lot of honor too that I can bring to my community,” Masvidal said. “But I know, from my fans, from my first personal fans, they’re very opinionated on the issue that I would go to the White House while Trump is in power. But we’ve got to look at it as a positive thing as well. There’s a Latin person being invited there to the White House. It’s a very cool thing, and I got invited.”
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