Donald Trump's son Eric has denied claims he asked UFC commentator Daniel Cormier which fights were 'rigged' at the White House event, and says 'scary' screenshots posted by the former fighter were made using 'AI'.
Controversy at UFC Freedom 250
Donald Trump's UFC Freedom 250 event has been hit by controversy after viral screenshots allegedly showed the President's son Eric asking commentator Daniel Cormier whether the fights were 'rigged'. In a now-deleted post on X, the former fighter shared screenshots purporting to be an exchange between him and Eric, in which the latter asked whether Cormier had any insight on fighter's injuries or if any of the scraps were effectively fixed.
Images circulating online of Cormier's posts appear to show an account allegedly in Trump's name asking: 'I'll cut to the chase. Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I've been eyeing up the Lopes fight and I think an upset wouldn't be too unrealistic', followed by two dollar signs.
Cormier Deletes Post
An account that looks identical to the President's son's also appeared to ask: 'Anything you can tell me about the fight tomorrow? Who you got winning?' The screenshots appear to show an account with Eric Trump's name and profile picture, as well as the same joining date as the President's son. Cormier posted the alleged conversation with the caption 'I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event', before swiftly deleting them.
Eric Trump Responds
Forty-two-year-old Eric was quick to distance himself from the screenshots, writing in a response on X: 'This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary. We are aware of the fake, AI generated screenshots being circulated online. I have never spoken to Daniel. He has since deleted his post, which confirms it was clearly fabricated.' Following his deletion, Cormier also appeared to suggest that his post may have been a fabrication, writing 'are people this dumb?', to which Trump simply replied 'thanks Daniel'.
Eric Trump has also doubled down on his claim that the screenshots were generated using artificial intelligence, responding to a now deleted tweet relating to the incident by saying: 'This did not happen. They were AI generated. Please be careful with reporting'.
