Clinton Faces Backlash After Criticizing Trump’s White House UFC Event

Hillary Clinton found herself facing a wave of conservative backlash this week after criticizing President Donald Trump’s planned UFC event on the White House grounds — a move critics say exposed a stunning lack of self-awareness from the former first lady.

Clinton took aim at the event on social media, arguing that the White House “is not his house” but “our house,” while using the moment to promote merchandise supporting candidates and organizations she claimed would respect the institution.

“Remember, during today’s literal cage match on the White House grounds: No matter what, it’s not his house. It’s our house,” Clinton wrote.

“Get a hat, coaster, or sticker to support groups and candidates who will respect the form and the function of the people’s house.”

The post, which restricted most public replies, quickly triggered a response from Republican lawmakers, conservative commentators, and political organizations who pointed back to the Clinton family’s own controversial history inside the executive mansion.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referenced former President Bill Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky while blasting Clinton’s lecture about respecting the White House.

“They literally rented out the Lincoln Bedroom and don’t forget Bill’s activity in the Oval Office,” Burchett wrote.

“The vandalism that went on when you left was also well-documented,” Burchett added.

The Lincoln Bedroom became a major controversy during the Clinton administration after reports emerged that prominent political donors had been invited to stay there. Bill Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky later led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1998 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, though he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, who carried the presidential emergency satchel known as the nuclear football during the Clinton administration, also fired back at the former first lady.

“I was the Air Force lieutenant colonel who carried the nuclear football for your husband inside that ‘people’s house’ you’re suddenly so precious about,” Patterson wrote.

Patterson went on to reference allegations involving Bill Clinton and accused the Clinton administration of misconduct during its time in the White House.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton added his own sharp rebuke.

“Woman who stole White House furniture has something to say about ‘our house,’” Fitton wrote on social media.

The official Republican Party account also responded, telling Clinton she should “sit this one out.”

Much of the criticism centered on long-running allegations involving damage and missing items after the Clintons departed the White House in 2001. A Government Accountability Office review requested at the time by former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., estimated roughly $15,000 in damage related to the presidential transition.

According to reports from that period, the GAO found that some incidents appeared to be intentional pranks, while Clinton defenders argued that similar behavior had occurred during previous transitions and that the damage claims were overstated.

Barr accused the outgoing Clinton administration of treating the White House “worse than college freshmen checking out of their dorm rooms.”

Trump’s UFC event has attracted intense attention of its own after a federal judge declined to stop it despite a last-minute lawsuit challenging the use of White House grounds.

The event was organized as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations and coincided with Trump’s 80th birthday. Supporters have framed it as a bold, distinctly American spectacle tied to one of the president’s favorite sports, while critics have complained that a mixed martial arts event is inappropriate for the White House lawn.

Clinton first criticized the UFC plans last month before renewing her attack Sunday. But rather than landing a clean political hit, her comments revived old questions about the Clinton years and gave conservatives an opening to highlight what they see as another example of Democratic hypocrisy.

The backlash shows how difficult it remains for Clinton to lecture Republicans about institutional respect without inviting scrutiny of her own family’s time in power. Nearly a decade after her 2016 loss to Trump, the political rivalry still sparks immediate reaction — and this time, conservatives say Clinton stepped directly into a fight she should have avoided.