President Donald Trump’s increasingly dramatic White House makeover is drawing fresh ridicule after new images revealed massive construction equipment, lighting rigs, and UFC event infrastructure rising directly beside the Executive Residence — all while organizers reportedly scramble to deal with swarms of bugs.

And critics say the White House is beginning to look less like the historic center of American government and more like a giant entertainment arena.

According to reports from The Daily Beast, crews on Monday erected enormous cranes and metal structures near the South Lawn as preparations intensified for the upcoming “UFC Freedom 250” celebration event scheduled for June 14.

The spectacle is reportedly tied both to America’s 250th birthday celebrations and Trump’s own upcoming 80th birthday — a pairing that has already generated enormous attention and controversy.

Photographs from the White House grounds showed towering construction arches designed to support large-scale lighting systems for the UFC-themed production.

The images immediately exploded online.

Critics mocked what they described as the continued “Las Vegasification” of the White House under Trump, while supporters praised the event as bold, patriotic, and uniquely American.

But the situation became even stranger after Dana White revealed another unexpected problem threatening the massive outdoor event:

Gnats.

Lots of them.

Speaking on the Boardroom podcast, White described being stunned by the number of insects swarming around the White House grounds during a recent dinner event hosted by Trump.

“The amount of gnats flying around,” White said, “I’m like, ‘Holy s—.’”

According to White, the insect issue became so alarming that he immediately contacted his production team after leaving Washington.

“As soon as I got on the plane,” he explained, “I called my head of production and said, ‘Let me tell you about the gnat situation tonight.’”

White specifically warned that the powerful stadium-style lighting planned for the UFC event could make the problem dramatically worse by attracting moths, gnats, and other insects directly toward the fighting area and spectators.

“When you’re a fighter,” White explained, “think about that lighting grid, the amount of power in the lights… moths, gnats, and God knows what else.”

The bizarre comments instantly fueled another round of online mockery.

Many critics already furious over Trump’s ongoing White House renovations seized on the bug issue as symbolic of what they view as a chaotic, overly theatrical presidency increasingly focused on spectacle over governance.

The UFC setup comes as construction continues on Trump’s controversial East Wing ballroom expansion project — another initiative already facing intense political backlash from both Democrats and some Republicans concerned about costs, optics, and priorities.

Together, the simultaneous ballroom project and UFC mega-event have transformed large sections of the White House grounds into what critics describe as a sprawling construction zone.

Some online observers compared the imagery to a luxury resort, convention center, or entertainment complex rather than the traditional image of the presidency.

Supporters, however, argue Trump is modernizing public events and making the White House feel energetic, patriotic, and culturally relevant in ways previous administrations avoided.

The UFC itself has become deeply intertwined with Trump’s political identity over recent years.

Trump has repeatedly attended UFC events to roaring applause from crowds, while White has become one of the president’s most visible and loyal celebrity allies.

Now the White House itself is preparing to host one of the most unusual spectacles ever staged on presidential grounds.

And organizers are apparently already planning unusual solutions to the insect problem.

White suggested giant industrial fans may be installed around the venue because gnats “have a hard time in the wind.”

That detail only added to the surreal nature of the entire situation.

Because while wars, inflation, elections, and international crises continue dominating headlines, the White House is simultaneously dealing with cranes, UFC lighting grids, giant birthday celebrations… and a possible gnat invasion.

And for critics of Trump, the optics feel increasingly impossible to ignore.