David Brooks on UFC Fight at White House: “Don’t Anybody Say America’s In Cultural Decline”
GEOFF BENNETT, PBS NEWSHOUR: In the time that remains, David, do your Sunday night plans involved being at the White House for a UFC match, by chance? JONATHAN CAPEHART, MS NOW: I asked him the same thing. DAVID BROOKS, THE ATLANTIC: Well, I’m actually active participant. [LAUGHTER] BROOKS: I’m going to be fighting with Jonathan. It’ll be fun. It will be like… [LAUGHTER] BENNETT: That, I would like to see. Could you imagine? BROOKS: Yes. BENNETT: But what do you make of this? BROOKS: Well, I first thought of, like, who are the artists John F. Kennedy brought to the White House? It was like W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein. And now we have got cage fighting. Don’t anybody say America’s in cultural decline. So I just… (Laughter) BENNETT: Well, look, yes, to your point, presidents have traditionally sought validation from established cultural institutions and artists. As I’m saying this, I’m looking at the what people have called the claw on the South Lawn. President Trump has created this alternative cultural establishment around combat sports and podcasts and influencers and social media stars. How significant is that shift? And what does it suggest? CAPEHART: Well, it’s a significant shift because it’s the president of the United States who’s anointing it. Whenever a president invites someone from the culture into the White House, it’s giving the imprimatur of the president. Excuse me. President Obama brought in Lin-Manuel to do what then became “Hamilton.” So there — you’re talking about Auden. And now you got [Lin-Manuel Miranda]… But this, a cage fight on the South Lawn of the White House, the people’s house, that also has corporate sponsorship that you can see inside the ring, this — talk about degrading the culture. This is degrading the White House, degrading the people’s house. And it’s just unconscionable that this has happened. BENNETT: Part of me thinks, though, that there were people who said that about Obama when he had rappers in the East Room, right? I mean, it’s just — are we just in a different time, a different… BROOKS: He wants us to be talking this way, because he’s saying, look, you get looked down upon by people. I believe in cage fighting just like you. BENNETT: Final word. CAPEHART: No, we are out of time. And I’m — we don’t have enough time for me to thunder righteous indignation about all this.
