Trump is celebrating his birthday with a UFC event at the White House. A group of anti-Trump activists is responding with Jane Fonda, Joy Reid, and Bette Midler. The rest of this article practically writes itself.

One side looked at Ameria and said, let’s build an octagon. The other looked at America and said, let’s call Jane Fonda.

The centerpiece is a 90-minute concert at New York’s Town Hall featuring entertainer Bette Midler, songwriter Patti Smith, actor Jane Fonda, musician Rufus Wainwright and commentator Joy Reid – streaming free nationwide, while local groups host watch parties across the country. The event is co-presented by the Committee for the First Amendment, a coalition of artists and cultural figures, and frames the US’s 250th anniversary as a moment of democratic reckoning. – The Guardian

A democratic reckoning? These people have been announcing democratic reckonings every six months since Trump rode down the golden escalator in 2015.

That contrast tells you almost everything you need to know about where both sides think the country is right now.

Reading through the concert lineup, I found myself asking a simple question: has anybody on the Left discovered a new celebrity in the last decade?

Oh, Look!

Ancient Hollywood actress and legendary American turncoat Jane Fonda partners with fired MSNBC host Joy Reid to urge people to join in “No Kings” protests today – by promoting it as an event where “you’ll have fun” and “you can protest and look cute while doing it”. pic.twitter.com/It0mMx9XoX

— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) March 28, 2026

The Same Resistance Playlist

Every election cycle seems to bring back the same cast of characters.

Jane Fonda. Bette Midler. Rosie O’Donnell. Bruce Springsteen. The names rotate a little, but the formula rarely changes. Trump does something. Celebrities issue statements. Somebody warns that democracy is ending. Everybody acts as though they are leading a great cultural uprising.

After nearly ten years, it is fair to ask whether the anti-Trump movement has anything else. At what point do ordinary voters on the Left stop and ask why so many of the apocalyptic predictions about a second Trump presidency never actually happened?

Political movements usually evolve. New leaders emerge. New ideas gain traction. Yet much of the anti-Trump movement still sounds remarkably similar to what we were hearing nearly a decade ago.

That’s why much of this feels stale.

James Carville Said The Quiet Part Out Loud

When I first read about this concert this morning, I immediately thought of James Carville.

If Trump Derangement Syndrome needed a mascot, James would be wearing the costume. Every time I hear another celebrity activist talking about Trump, I hear some version of what you’re about to hear in this clip.

Carville’s rant stood out because he did not spend much time talking about policy. He did not spend much time talking about solutions. Instead, he talked about hatred and humiliation. Carville talked about wanting Trump to know how deeply he is despised.

Bless his little heart, but James never really explains why his hatred runs so deep. The clip is almost entirely emotion. Trump must be hated. Trump must be humiliated. Trump must know how much people despise him.

What struck me most was that Carville is proud of his TDS.

About That Patriotism Thing

The organizers say their concert is about reclaiming patriotism and building community. They describe it as an alternative to power, pageantry, and one person’s spotlight.

Okay. Sure.

It also happens to be a nationally livestreamed celebrity concert built around famous people standing under spotlights. Apparently, spotlights are only a problem when somebody else is standing under them.

Which Side Understands The Moment?

Trump’s event revolves around UFC. Love it or hate it, UFC has become one of the biggest sports brands in the country. It attracts young fans, older fans, working-class fans, suburban fans, and plenty of people who normally ignore politics altogether.

🇺🇸 Crews are building a massive temporary 5,000-seat setup on the South Lawn with a giant octagon cage for UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 (Trump’s 80th birthday + America’s 250th).

First pro fight event EVER at the White House.pic.twitter.com/fnLSWKAc45

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 27, 2026

The sport understands entertainment. It understands competition. Most importantly, it understands its audience.

The response from anti-Trump activists was to roll out Jane Fonda, Joy Reid, and a celebrity concert.

That decision tells its own story.

The most interesting thing about this story is not the concert. It is not the UFC event. And it’s not even James Carville.

It’s the fact that nearly a decade after Trump first entered politics, one side still seems to be reacting to him while the other side has moved on to building something around him.

Those are two very different mindsets.

June 14 will be a pretty interesting test of which one has more energy behind it.

Feature Image: Siebbi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons/edited in Canva Pro