WWE president Nick Khan knows many wrestling and MMA fans love Donald Trump.
Khan, who previously was an agent at CAA, has overseen arguably the most successful period in WWE history. This week, he celebrated a new Netflix deal, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson formally returned to the WWE by ringing the New York Stock Exchange bell. And after the company’s merger with the UFC into a publicly traded company, TKO, Khan is thinking big.
That inspired a question from Fox News’ Will Cain about whether Khan and WWE will welcome likely GOP presidential nominee Trump back in the near future.
Khan wouldn’t rule out Trump’s return to the ring after being a frequent guest at events through the years, but his response showed just how much he wanted to avoid the topic.
“We welcome all people at WWE and at UFC, so we don’t see ourselves as a political entity in any way, shape or form,” Khan said. “In fact, over the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve stayed away from that because we want everyone to know that they’re welcome here. Red states, we sell out blue states. We sell out. It’s not what we’re focused on. What we’re focused on is the in-ring product and how it delivers to the fans. And if politicians are fans of our product, they’re welcome.”
Trump certainly is a fan of combat sports, or at least the attention fight fans give him.
But things went very off the rails once Khan tried to expand on Trump’s appeal to fight fans or why he would welcome Trump back to WWE.
“I think for all of us who come from the outside … there’s always a bit of imposter syndrome of when am I going to get discovered for not being who people might think I am,” Khan said. “And then you realize at a certain point, like, no, it’s not imposter syndrome. It’s just normal life for our fans. Most of them are folks who have earned their way into the seat that they’re in. And by the way, that applies to the expensive seats. That applies to the not expensive seats. So I think whenever they see somebody who has a similar story to them, someone who’s built something, who wants to build something, it resonates.”
You can almost picture Khan’s hands flipping through a corporate-speak dictionary in real time as he limps through that answer. This is what happens when a media suit tries to talk about populism and electoral politics.
Trump was a fixture on WWE for years. As recently as the late 2000s, as he crept into politics, Trump appeared on the show. He even participated in the “Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 23, where he shaved Vince MacMahon’s head in the ring.
Any Trump appearance at a UFC event during and since his presidency is a guaranteed standing ovation.
It may be smart business for Khan to consider bringing the former president back into the WWE family. But regarding the inevitable controversy the world’s most famous politician would get to the company, you would think Khan would have been more prepared with an answer.
[The Will Cain Show on YouTube]
