'i Want You To Be My Agent.' What To Know About Trump's Ties With Hollywood Power Player Ari Emanuel

Last month, President-elect Donald Trump entered a sold-out Madison Square Garden to be nan mixed martial arts extravaganza UFC 309. Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass” played and nan crowd erupted successful cheers, chanting “USA! USA!”

The incoming 47th president was flanked by UFC President Dana White and a cortege of Trumpworld insiders tapped for nan caller administration, including Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.

Also coming was Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel, caput of nan Endeavor Group and main executive of UFC’s genitor company, TKO.

Inside nan arena, Trump approached nan Octagon-side “promoters table” wherever White and UFC commentator Joe Rogan beryllium and wherever he was seen concisely chatting pinch Emanuel.

Their gathering astatine nan UFC bout was nan 2nd clip nan brace had spoken since Trump’s 2024 statesmanlike run, said a personification adjacent to Emanuel who was not authorized to comment. Emanuel, Trump’s erstwhile agent, called him past summertime aft he was changeable astatine a run rally to inquire really he was doing, and Trump appreciated nan call, nan root said.

As Hollywood originates to grapple pinch really to navigate Trumpworld 2.0, fewer are amended positioned to navigate nan caller management than Emanuel.

The brash powerfulness subordinate has staunch Democratic bona fides: He has hosted fundraisers for nan statement and donated to a number of its candidates complete nan years. During this statesmanlike rhythm he gave astir $1 cardinal to Kamala Harris’ PAC and campaign. And his relative Rahm was President Obama’s first main of staff, later nan politician of Chicago and Biden’s ambassador to Japan.

Nonetheless, Ari Emanuel has cultivated multifaceted ties to Trump and galore of his associates complete nan years, among them Elon Musk, UFC’s White and WWE’s Vince McMahon. One of William Morris Endeavor’s literate agents represented Vice President-elect JD Vance erstwhile he sold his 2016 bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” (Emanuel interviewed Vance astatine an worker book nine bid successful 2018 successful Cleveland).

Emanuel, who has publically castigated Israeli premier curate Benjamin Netanyahu and criticized President Biden and his aides for not dropping retired of nan statesmanlike title earlier, says that he will not beryllium awkward astir voicing his concerns to Trump, telling The Times, “If I really disagree pinch thing that I deliberation he would do, I will decidedly prime up nan phone.”

‘The King of Hollywood’

Back successful 2010, Emanuel became Trump’s agent, conscionable months aft nan Hollywood powerfulness agent engineered a stunning takeover of nan famed William Morris Agency. The New York existent property developer turned reality TV prima was hosting “Celebrity Apprentice,” and he called Emanuel arsenic he played play during his company‘s yearly off-site successful Palm Springs.

“Ari, this is Donald Trump. Did you make that Conan deal? I want you to beryllium my agent,” Trump told him, according to personification adjacent to Emanuel.

The NBC show was flagging successful nan ratings — contempt Trump insisting different — and he wanted what he ever craved: a amended deal.

Endeavor had extracted immoderate awesome concessions from NBC aft nan web axed Conan O’Brien arsenic big of “The Tonight Show,” including a $32.5-million payout.

The woody caught Trump’s attention, and he wanted nan man he’d taken to calling “the King of Hollywood” representing him.

Five years later, Trump announced his first tally for president. After he called Mexicans “rapists” who brought narcotics and crime into nan country, NBC trim ties pinch him. Trump bought retired NBC’s liking successful nan Miss Universe Organization and past sold Miss Universe to Emanuel’s Endeavor for an undisclosed sum. In November 2016, Trump was elected nan 45th president of nan United States.

Although Emanuel has not represented Trump since nan second announced his first candidacy, he was photographed gathering Trump astatine his play nine successful Bedminster, N.J., aft nan 2016 election. Emanuel has downplayed nan sojourn to those astir him.

Three years later, Emanuel’s sanction surfaced successful a trove of immoderate 100 documents from Trump’s modulation that was leaked to nan governmental news tract Axios, indicating he had been vetted for an unspecified domiciled successful nan administration. A spokesperson for Endeavor declined to remark astatine nan time.

Trump, who has called Emanuel “a very bully friend of mine,” said astatine nan commencement of his first administration: “Even though he’s not political, he’s political. He gets it.”

Elon Musk: The Trump whisperer

Elon Musk has progressively go 1 of Trump’s astir influential advisors.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Over nan years, Emanuel’s narration pinch Elon Musk took shape, and its contours deepened arsenic nan uber-agent transformed Endeavor from a talent agency into a world sports and intermezo powerhouse. In March 2021, a period earlier Endeavor went nationalist connected nan New York Stock Exchange, Musk was tapped to subordinate nan company’s committee (he resigned successful 2022).

That aforesaid year, Musk was among a clutch of intimates (along pinch Brian Grazer and Larry David) who attended Emanuel’s 60th day statement astatine Ivy connected nan Shore successful Santa Monica. In nan summertime of 2022, erstwhile Emanuel joined manner designer Sarah Staudinger, Musk joined a prime group of A-listers (Mark Wahlberg, David Zaslav) invited to their wedding successful St. Tropez, France. Months later Musk was photographed yachting disconnected nan seashore of Greece pinch nan newlyweds.

Behind nan scenes, Emanuel has played a quiet domiciled successful immoderate of Musk’s notable businesses.

When Musk attempted to backmost retired of his $44-billion takeover of Twitter successful 2022, causing a rift pinch its board, Emanuel reached retired to Egon Durban, a Twitter committee personnel and co-CEO of backstage equity patient Silver Lake, past Endeavor’s largest shareholder.

Emanuel urged nan institution to “find a solution” to nan ineligible conflict up of nan scheduled trial. Musk and nan committee yet sealed nan woody and nan billionaire took nan societal level private, later renaming it X.

As Emanuel played bid agent betwixt Musk and nan Twitter board, he sent Musk a three-paragraph connection connected nan encrypted matter level Signal offering to tally Twitter pinch Endeavor for a interest of $100 million, saying he would trim costs, create a amended civilization and negociate relationships pinch advertisers and marketers.

Emanuel’s overture, unearthed successful Walter Isaacson’s flattering curriculum vitae of nan Tesla mogul, ne'er moved forward.

Jared Birchall, Musk’s right-hand man, called it “the astir insulting, demeaning, insane message.”

The scuttled connection apparently did small to ruffle feathers. In January 2023, Axios revealed that Endeavor had acquired a mini liking successful X. As for Emanuel, he has been spotted astir municipality driving a glossy achromatic Cybertruck.

Dana White: Trump’s strongman champion

UFC President Dana White has agelong championed Trump.

(Getty Images)

In 2016, nan aforesaid twelvemonth that Endeavor acquired nan Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for much than $4 billion, its president, Dana White, a bombastic erstwhile mixed martial arts (MMA) manager, took nan shape astatine nan Republican National Convention successful Cleveland and gave a fulsome endorsement of nan GOP statesmanlike nominee. “I’ve been successful nan conflict business my full life,” he said, and Trump, he noted, was a “fighter.”

Trump had thrown White a lifeline years ago. In 2000, New Jersey legalized MMA and Trump reached retired to White offering to clasp fights astatine his now-defunct Trump Taj Mahal casino and edifice successful Atlantic City. Trump himself showed up for events, raising UFC’s profile.

Since then, White has been 1 of Trump’s staunchest supporters extracurricular politics. He has invited Trump to UFC events moreover arsenic Trump faced a spate of criminal, civilian and different ineligible challenges.

As White became known arsenic MAGA’s frontman, he and Emanuel forged a successful business business turning nan UFC into nan world’s largest MMA promotion.

“Now pinch Ari, he and I extremity up being cleanable partners together. It’s really cool,” White told nan website MMA Fighting. “You deliberation of a feline for illustration Ari, if you watch ‘Entourage’ — Ari Emanuel has nary ego erstwhile he deals successful business and he’s a f—king slayer and I emotion that astir him too.”

Emanuel has heaped praise connected White too, crediting him pinch helping to prevention Endeavor’s sprawling empire during nan pandemic.

White implemented an fierce scheme to proceed to clasp conflict events connected Yas Island successful nan United Arab Emirates, dubbed “Fight Island.”

The Emanuel-White confederation reached its apex past autumn erstwhile Endeavor officially merged UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) into TKO Group Holdings, a publically traded $21.4-billion fighting sports and intermezo giant.

Vince and Linda McMahon: Trump’s conflict squad

For years earlier he acquired TKO, Ari Emanuel represented WWE led by Vince McMahon, left, pinch his wife, Linda McMahon, who was Trump’s Small Business Administration head.

(Jessica Hill / Associated Press)

Emanuel has heavy connections pinch different fig who has adjacent ties to Trump: Vince McMahon.

Last April connected CNBC, Emanuel sat adjacent to McMahon and announced nan UFC-WWE merger, insisting that McMahon was a driving unit and paramount to nan deal.

McMahon was named executive president of nan recently created TKO Group Holdings arsenic a information of nan deal, according to SEC filings.

McMahon boasted that the caller company was a “live sports and intermezo powerhouse pinch a corporate instrumentality guidelines of much than a cardinal people.”

Emanuel had a long-standing narration pinch McMahon. They met successful nan precocious 1990s, soon aft Emanuel launched his ain talent agency. He persuaded McMahon to fto Endeavor correspond nan WWE for endorsement opportunities and media rights.

By then, McMahon had already developed adjacent ties to Trump.

During nan 1980s, Trump became a WWE fixture and nan 2 men grew friendly. Trump hosted WrestleMania extravaganzas astatine his hotels and made galore appearances astatine matches. In 2013, Trump was inducted into nan WWE’s Hall of Fame.

In 2007 and ’09, WWE made payments of $4 cardinal and $1 million, respectively, to nan Trump Foundation, according to nan foundation’s taxation filings. The instauration was dissolved by tribunal bid successful 2018 aft nan New York lawyer wide recovered that it had illegally utilized charitable costs for governmental purposes.

McMahon exited TKO successful January aft erstwhile WWE worker Janel Grant, sued nan company, McMahon and nan erstwhile caput of talent relations alleging intersexual assault, trafficking and affectional abuse. This followed antecedently disclosed revelations that McMahon had paid millions successful hush money to aggregate women to quash allegations of intersexual misconduct betwixt 2006 and 2022. McMahon has denied nan accusations of wrongdoing.

The allegations triggered investigations by nan Securities and Exchange Commission and nan Department of Justice, raising questions arsenic to really aliases if nan Trump Justice Department will grip nan authorities probes.

Emanuel has periodically stayed successful touch pinch McMahon, who is nary longer progressive successful nan moving of TKO and WWE.

The McMahon family appears to beryllium successful bully opinionated pinch Trump.

In 2017, Trump named McMahon’s estranged wife, Linda, to tally nan Small Business Administration. Two years later, she resigned to go chairwoman of America First Action, a pro-Trump super-PAC; much recently, she co-headed his modulation team. Last month, Trump nominated McMahon to service successful his Cabinet arsenic his Education secretary.