WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has showered praise on Donald Trump, calling the current US president a “genius” and “charismatic in so many ways”.
The WWE and Levesque are closely connected to the Trump administration as the current education secretary is Linda McMahon, the estranged wife of Vince McMahon, the mogul of the famed wrestling company who quit in 2023 following serious sexual abuse allegations.
WWE is now owned by TKO Group Holdings – an umbrella company that also owns UFC. Trump regularly attends the latter’s events and has previously been heavily featured on WWE television, with his last appearance occurring in 2013.
Ahead of WrestleMania 41, taking place in Las Vegas between 19 and 20 April, Levesque made a rare public comment about the president, praising him for his ability to generate interest around himself.
Speaking to the Flagrant podcast the 55-year-old said: “I think Trump’s ability as an orator – like him or hate him – the way he does it, he's charismatic in so many ways.
“I think he likes getting under people’s skin. I think he likes generating heat the way he does. It’s amazing and it’s genius and it worked in our business. Do I think he got that from our business? I think he innately understands that. It’s been his whole life.”
Continuing he said: “There’s a lot of billionaires in the world – why was he the most famous one? Why was he the one that was in People Magazine every week and with everybody under the sun? Why was he seen as the epitome of that billionaire status? Because of his charisma and his character and who he is, and the way he can speak about it and do all those things. He just captivates people.”
It comes just weeks after the US national anthem was booed after WWE played the song at their Elimination Chamber event in Toronto amid tensions between Canada and the United States, which have been largely instigated by Trump.
Levesque was recently seen at Linda McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing, where he sat directly behind his mother-in-law. Shane and Stephanie McMahon are the children of Linda and Vince McMahon. Stephanie is married to Levesque.
McMahon, a major Republican donor, has more experience in the business world than education and was reportedly after the Commerce job that Trump ended up giving to Howard Lutnick. She previously led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.
