A live television debate erupted Friday over whether the White House is imposing strict physical fitness and waistline restrictions on service members invited to an upcoming ultimate fighting event on the grounds.
The controversy began following a Washington Post report detailing internal Department of Defense memos regarding “UFC Freedom 250,” a martial arts event scheduled to take place at the White House next month. According to documents obtained by the paper, service members hoping to secure a ticket face specific aesthetic and physical criteria. One internal message noted that attendees “MUST MEET CURRENT WAIST-HEIGHT RATIO and current physical fitness standard,” while specifying that troops would be required to wear short-sleeve dress uniforms.
Another internal directive instructed commands to source personnel from outside the National Capital Region and explicitly stated that the required waist-to-height ratio must be “less than 0.55.” Later in the day, a senior Department of Defense official reportedly summarized the selection policy to CNN as “No fatties.”
The issue came to a head on CNN’s evening program, The Source, when political commentator Scott Jennings disputed the reporting during a live broadcast from a minor league baseball stadium in Kentucky. Jennings stated that he went directly to administration sources to verify the claims.
“I asked the White House point-blank, is this true?” Jennings said on air. “And I was told, quote, ‘Fake news from The Washington Post.’ So, without being in the middle of it, I can only tell you what I’ve been told by the White House. There are no restrictions. They are inviting members of the military. They’re excited to have members of the military there.”
Jennings went on to criticize pushback from political opponents, adding, “And as for these Democrats who are criticizing this, why do they have to be such fun vacuums? This is cool. Teddy Roosevelt had boxing matches at the White House. Donald Trump is the modern Teddy Roosevelt.”
Anchor Kaitlan Collins immediately countered Jennings’ defense by reading directly from an internal directive on screen.
“But there’s literally a memo that said ‘ticket recipients are required to meet the Department of War waist-to-height ratio standard of less than 0.55, as well as all service-specific physical fitness test requirements,'” Collins said. “That means troops would have to have a maximum 37-inch waist for the average man, and a 35-inch waist for the average woman. I mean, there’s a memo on it.”
Jennings acknowledged the military’s baseline standards but dismissed the focus on the documents as a political distraction.
“Well, look, I know the military has standards on physical fitness,” Jennings replied. “Beyond that, I don’t know what to say about it other than the White House says they’re happy to have military members come to this awesome event at the White House. And it sounds to me like it’s nitpicky and will find a way to criticize something that otherwise was kind of a communication stroke of genius.”
The Department of Defense has not officially commented on the leak of the internal communications, and planning for the exhibition matches remains underway for next month.
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