Donald Trump Says Dana White Press Secretary Offer Was a Joke
President Donald Trump says he was "only kidding" when he offered UFC CEO Dana White the job of White House press secretary, just a day after publicly urging him to take the role.
"I will tell you, I was only kidding," Trump told reporters on Sunday, Nov. 8, according to ESPN.
The Offer That Started It All
On Saturday, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had offered White the press secretary job. "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!" he wrote.
Trump even suggested a team of UFC fighters as White's assistants, naming Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes.
White shared Trump's post on his Instagram Story with a photo of himself behind the White House podium and the caption "On to the next chapter," Fox News reported. At a news conference in London on Saturday, White said he would fly to Washington to discuss it.
However, CNN reported Saturday, citing an unnamed source, that White had declined the idea, while an unnamed aide said the offer was a joke.
"Rough Faces"
Trump said the lineup of fighters should have been a giveaway. "And you see a lot of rough faces there," he said, joking that some of the fighters came from "parts unknown."
Still, Trump had plenty of praise for White, calling him "a very capable guy." He added, "Dana loves the idea, and there's only one Dana," and said, "You wouldn't mess around with him so much."
Trump said some people responded to the idea by saying, "that's actually a pretty good idea."
White was scheduled to visit the White House on Monday, Nov. 9, though the purpose of the meeting was unclear, Forbes reported. Trump said White was coming to Washington "for other reasons."
A Case of Mistaken Identity?
The offer also caused some confusion online. Some social media users speculated that Trump had mixed up the UFC boss with Dana W. White, a Republican communications executive who served as a Pentagon spokesperson during Trump's first term.
She quickly cleared things up on LinkedIn. "To everyone texting me congratulations: thank you, but you have the wrong Dana White," she wrote, adding that she has "never stood in an octagon" and would "like to keep it that way."
A Revolving Door at the Podium
The press secretary job has been open for weeks. Karoline Leavitt stepped down in August, and her successor, Katie Zacharia, lasted just five days before leaving in October. Her short tenure was marked by an awkward briefing and scrutiny over her claims of being a lawyer, though she never passed the bar exam.
When asked on Oct. 23 about finding a replacement, Trump said, "We're in no rush." The shake-ups have extended beyond the briefing room, with Trump recently naming Stephen Miller as chief of staff.
Trump and White's Long Friendship
Trump and White go back decades, to the UFC's early years, when Trump hosted fights at his Atlantic City casino. White has spoken at Republican National Conventions for Trump and introduced him at the 2024 convention. White told Rolling Stone in May that Trump "showed up to the first fight of the night and stayed till the last fight" and became a "very good friend."
In June, the White House South Lawn hosted UFC Freedom 250, a live event tied to America's 250th anniversary and Trump's 80th birthday. White pushed back on criticism of hosting the fight during the Iran war, saying the UFC "can't just bend and break and roll over for every bad thing that happens in the world." He has also said he and Trump don't discuss politics, and in 2024 he said he had "no personal political aspirations."
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