Inside the decades-long friendship between Trump and Hulk Hogan
Donald Trump and Hulk Hogan's paths first crossed at a wrestling event in the late 1980s at one of Trump's Atlantic City, New Jersey, hotels. The meeting kicked off a more than three-decade long friendship, marked by their career parallels: both were '80s celebrities who found greater fame in the world of reality television before wielding their influence in politics.
Just over a year before his death on Thursday, Hogan delivered a rousing speech at the Republican National Convention in July 2024 in Milwaukee during which he dramatically ripped off his T-shirt — to reveal another one bearing the Trump-Vance campaign logo — and endorsed his 'hero,' Trump.
Hogan said he was motivated by the attempted assassination of Trump days earlier in Butler, Pennsylvania.
'What happened last week, when they took a shot at my hero, and they tried to kill the next president of the United States, enough was enough, and I said: 'Let Trumpamania run wild brother. Let Trumpamania rule again, let Trumpamania make America great again,' Hogan said.
On Thursday, Trump mourned his 'strong, tough, smart' friend, who died of a heart attack in Clearwater, Florida. He was 71.
'We lost a great friend today, the 'Hulkster.' Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart,' Trump wrote on his social media site, using the acronym for his 'Make America Great Again' campaign slogan.
'He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week,' Trump said. 'He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump is turning the people's house into a ‘dictator-chic' Saudi palace
When I was little, my mom told me a Cinderella story that happened to be true. Once upon a time, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson held a competition for the design of the house of our presidents. Well-established architects submitted proposals, but the winner was a young Irishman, James Hoban. He also supervised the construction of part of the Capitol. My dad, another Irishman, worked at the Capitol. And sometimes my mom and I would drive down and gaze at the White House and Capitol, so proud that an up-and-coming Irishman could have beaten out all the other architects to play such a central role in conjuring the seats of our new republic. I would think about that when I grew up to be a White House reporter, interviewing president George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office. The room where it happens was a place of wonder, baked in history – good and bad. A famous old ivy, which lasted through so many administrations and eavesdropped on so many remarkable conversations, was the main item on the mantel, flanked by porcelain vases. (Now there are nine gold decorative objects and counting.) Back then, the room was understated and overwhelming. As Michael Douglas' CEO said in The American President, showing off the Oval Office: 'The White House is the single greatest home court advantage in the modern world.' Real power doesn't need to shout. In fact, it can whisper. But Donald Trump was shouting down to reporters on Tuesday as he surveyed his desecration from the White House roof. He looked at his brutalist Rose Garden renovation, a stone slab with Florida-esque patio furniture and the site of the proposed $US200 million ($311 million) ballroom, encroaching on the East Wing and encompassing 90,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the White House residence. Trump vowed to pay for the ballroom with private funds – which means, of course, that someone else will curry favour and pay. (Trump bulldozed the Rose Garden, which Melania Trump helped renovate, just so reporters covering his outdoor pronouncements and White House staffers would not sink into the grass.)
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Trump is turning the people's house into a ‘dictator-chic' Saudi palace
When I was little, my mom told me a Cinderella story that happened to be true. Once upon a time, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson held a competition for the design of the house of our presidents. Well-established architects submitted proposals, but the winner was a young Irishman, James Hoban. He also supervised the construction of part of the Capitol. My dad, another Irishman, worked at the Capitol. And sometimes my mom and I would drive down and gaze at the White House and Capitol, so proud that an up-and-coming Irishman could have beaten out all the other architects to play such a central role in conjuring the seats of our new republic. I would think about that when I grew up to be a White House reporter, interviewing president George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office. The room where it happens was a place of wonder, baked in history – good and bad. A famous old ivy, which lasted through so many administrations and eavesdropped on so many remarkable conversations, was the main item on the mantel, flanked by porcelain vases. (Now there are nine gold decorative objects and counting.) Back then, the room was understated and overwhelming. As Michael Douglas' CEO said in The American President, showing off the Oval Office: 'The White House is the single greatest home court advantage in the modern world.' Real power doesn't need to shout. In fact, it can whisper. But Donald Trump was shouting down to reporters on Tuesday as he surveyed his desecration from the White House roof. He looked at his brutalist Rose Garden renovation, a stone slab with Florida-esque patio furniture and the site of the proposed $US200 million ($311 million) ballroom, encroaching on the East Wing and encompassing 90,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the White House residence. Trump vowed to pay for the ballroom with private funds – which means, of course, that someone else will curry favour and pay. (Trump bulldozed the Rose Garden, which Melania Trump helped renovate, just so reporters covering his outdoor pronouncements and White House staffers would not sink into the grass.)
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump nominates ex-Fox News host as US deputy to UN
US President Donald Trump says he is nominating State Department spokesperson and former Fox News Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January. In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a "fantastic job" as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump's Republican Party holds a majority. During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years. She has also authored books like Fear Itself: Exposing the Left's Mind-Killing Agenda that criticised liberals and left-leaning viewpoints. In a post after Trump's announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a "few weeks" away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts. "Now I'm blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post," Bruce wrote on X. Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his UN envoy. Waltz's Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce's boss, is still due. Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador. US President Donald Trump says he is nominating State Department spokesperson and former Fox News Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January. In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a "fantastic job" as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump's Republican Party holds a majority. During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years. She has also authored books like Fear Itself: Exposing the Left's Mind-Killing Agenda that criticised liberals and left-leaning viewpoints. In a post after Trump's announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a "few weeks" away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts. "Now I'm blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post," Bruce wrote on X. Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his UN envoy. Waltz's Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce's boss, is still due. Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador. US President Donald Trump says he is nominating State Department spokesperson and former Fox News Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January. In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a "fantastic job" as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump's Republican Party holds a majority. During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years. She has also authored books like Fear Itself: Exposing the Left's Mind-Killing Agenda that criticised liberals and left-leaning viewpoints. In a post after Trump's announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a "few weeks" away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts. "Now I'm blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post," Bruce wrote on X. Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his UN envoy. Waltz's Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce's boss, is still due. Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador. US President Donald Trump says he is nominating State Department spokesperson and former Fox News Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations. Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January. In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a "fantastic job" as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump's Republican Party holds a majority. During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory. Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years. She has also authored books like Fear Itself: Exposing the Left's Mind-Killing Agenda that criticised liberals and left-leaning viewpoints. In a post after Trump's announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a "few weeks" away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts. "Now I'm blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post," Bruce wrote on X. Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his UN envoy. Waltz's Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce's boss, is still due. Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador.
