EVIDENTLY UTILISING THE Oval Office as a locker room, mixed martial arts fights were staged last weekend on the south lawn of the White House. The event, billed as UFC Freedom 250, was intended to celebrate the semi-quincentennial of the United States. It also happened to be President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. One could be forgiven for asking which is most important to the MAGA faithful.

While a solid majority of us Americans, as shown by polls, did not appreciate cage fighting on what our civic religion teaches us is hallowed ground, it was a pretty spectacular production. Still, that the commander-in-chief views the UFC as in any way symbolic of or a testament to the values we are taught from a young age is disheartening. His predecessors on both sides of the aisle – such as his fellow Republican, George HW Bush, a genuine hero and patriot – must be turning in their graves.

Featherweight fighters Diego Lopez and Steve Garcia compete in the ring on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The vulgarity of the proceedings was compounded by a participant shouting into a microphone: “Michelle Obama is a man!” That President Trump declined to condemn the nasty comment about the former First Lady, which is derived from nonsensical online conspiracy theories, immediately thereafter or since is disgraceful. Yet it is sadly typical.

At any rate, a couple of days later, Trump and his Iranian counterpart electronically signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that purportedly will extend the current ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The MOU is merely a page and a half long and contains 14 points. Without getting too deep into the weeds, let’s consider what it says, what is negotiable and what may flow from the........

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