Josh Hokit grabbed a microphone after winning a match on the White House south lawn on Sunday and shouted into the crowd, "Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?" — a false, derogatory claim made in front of President Donald Trump.
Seconds after Hokit spoke, Trump appeared to show a half-smile, and some in the audience burst into laughter. The remark, delivered at an event tied to the president’s 80th birthday and the administration’s lead-up to the 250th anniversary of independence, immediately drew condemnation from figures inside and outside the fight world.
Former sports media figure Dave Portnoy said the president needed to respond directly. "There was one moment I do think Trump has to denounce, and anybody associated with it has to denounce. And that’s that crazy fighter guy … he won the fight, he took the microphone, and he made a derogatory comment about Michelle Obama," Portnoy said. He added: "When you have that on the White House lawn on an event you put on, I don’t care what you think about the Obamas or anything, that has to be an immediate denounce. I have no problem with the event. I guess you run that risk because these guys are lunatics. But that was the only thing. Trump should denounce it."
UFC president Dana White also criticized the attack on a public figure’s family, saying: "I understand that the Obamas are public figures, but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families." He added, "Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense." Ex-NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III wrote on X: "What a disgrace. It takes a really small man to use his biggest moment to attack a woman by calling her a man. Especially with the history behind calling black women men."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and Trump did not immediately denounce Hokit’s shout on Sunday. That pause — and the president’s visible half-smile in the moments after the comment — has become the central point of criticism as allies and opponents urged a clear presidential repudiation.
Context for the incident: the false claim about Michelle Obama has circulated in far-right online echo chambers, and critics had already labeled the White House fight event a tacky, vulgar debasement of the office in the run-up to national anniversary events. The remark landed at a politically charged moment and was amplified because it occurred on the White House lawn during a high-profile celebration.
The immediate consequence is public pressure on the president to speak. Calls for a denunciation came from media figures and sports executives; on Monday the controversy was still being debated on national television. The White House’s silence and Trump’s initial nonverbal reaction have left a clear unanswered question: will the president explicitly repudiate the lie and the insult delivered at his event?
As of Monday there was no presidential denunciation and the White House had not answered inquiries. That absence of a clear, immediate response is itself the story’s next chapter — the event put the choice before the president, and until he breaks the silence the slur will remain an uncorrected public moment that critics say requires repudiation.
