12 June—It’s most gratifying to report that Donald Trump’s popularity has plummeted to the lowest level ever, with nearly twice as many Americans disapproving of his job performance (and of him personally, as there’s a very strong correlation) as approving. At least during either of his reigns of error and terror—and who cares about when he was just a big-time con man before he was enabled by stupid Democrats, the flawed electoral process, and the Supreme Court to inflict his self-dealing maleficence and corruption on the nation.

Not that Trump gives a damn, of course. Tyrants just don’t care about popularity ratings. Not that it matters, but Gallup’s last poll on Trump’s approval rating, from December 2025, was pretty close to the current post-Gallup numbers. You’ll recall that Gallup, once probably the most respected and cited of polling organizations, appears to have been bullied into ending its 88-year poll of presidential ratings; and the one in December was the last. It wouldn’t be at all surprising were Gallup to resume presidential ratings when Trump disappears in one way or another.

Trump’s self-dealing and corruption bring to mind the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) show on the White House’s South Lawn to celebrate the big bugger’s 80^th birthday on Sunday. Trump and his flunkies claim it’s to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial—touted as Freedom 250—but we know better. Because everything’s about Trump.

The late Senator John McCain called UFC “human cockfighting” back in the nineties, when it was new and banned in 36 states. Evidently the mixed martial art, an entertaining sport or sporting entertainment (like all sports these days), has been toned down so that’s no longer as much fun to watch.

The $60 million-plus cost of putting up and taking down the octagon—the 30-foot eight-sided cage in which the mixed martial artists ultimately fight and the 4,000-seat grandstand from which the audience cries for blood—and restoring the grass is allegedly being picked up entirely by the UFC corporate people.

Admission to the UFC performance is said to be by invitation only, to Trump lackeys and military personnel. But allegedly free tickets have allegedly been made available to groundlings (i.e., the great unwashed) to watch the show on big screens at the Ellipse. And, typically of anything involving Donald Trump, so-called VIP packages are reportedly selling for $1.5 million.

You wonder who gets the gate. Because according to a (surprising, for a number of reasons) financial disclosure, a couple of months ago Donald Trump bought somewhere between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of shares in the relevant UFC holding company, which is publicly traded. Fifty thou is bupkes, of course, so believe that Trump and his evil spawn must have bought a lot more. And, as you’d expect, Trump has licensed his name and image to a line of “UFC Freedom 250” collectibles. But, lest you worry, Trump’s maladministration isn’t involved. Officially, anyway.

God save us . . .