Trump Offers UFC Chief Dana White the White House Press Secretary Job
Trump said on Truth Social he has offered the vacant press secretary post to UFC CEO Dana White, urging him to bring star fighters along as assistants.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the president and chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. The announcement, made in a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, came as the White House has gone weeks without a permanent spokesperson and days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections.
It was not immediately clear whether White intended to accept the offer, or how seriously it was meant, according to Newsweek. CNBC reported that neither the White House nor the UFC had responded to requests for comment by the time of its report.
What Trump said
In the post, Trump described White as “a violent Fighter and Warrior” and said he had been offered “the job of Press Secretary of the United States,” according to accounts by CNBC, Newsweek and the media news site Mediaite.
Trump also said he had asked White to bring a group of mixed martial arts figures with him to serve as assistants. Newsweek and Mediaite both reported that the list included Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, two champions from Russia’s Dagestan region; Justin Gaethje, a veteran UFC lightweight contender; Daniel Cormier, a former UFC champion turned commentator; and former champion Amanda Nunes. CNBC noted that Trump acknowledged in the post that some of those he named “are not from our Country.”
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote, according to all three outlets. He ended the message with a direct appeal: “Dana, please take the job!”
A job with unusually high turnover
The offer is the latest twist in an unusually turbulent stretch for the White House press office. Karoline Leavitt, who served as press secretary for much of Trump’s second term, left the role at the end of August, Mediaite reported.
Her successor, Katie Zacharia, lasted only five days in the job. Newsweek reported that she departed on Oct. 16 after giving a single briefing, amid criticism of her performance and scrutiny of her professional background. CNBC similarly reported that Zacharia left in October, five days after taking over from Leavitt. Since then, no permanent replacement had been named. Newsweek reported that some members of the administration had even floated the rapper Nicki Minaj as a possible pick.
The press secretary is the administration’s chief public voice, typically leading regular briefings for the White House press corps and answering questions on behalf of the president. The post does not require Senate confirmation.
Why it matters
The announcement comes at a moment of upheaval inside the West Wing. On Friday, the White House said Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff and architect of the administration’s hardline immigration agenda, would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles, CNBC reported.
Those moves follow a bruising midterm election for Republicans, who lost ground across the country this week. Newsweek noted that the press secretary offer arrived just days after those losses, as the administration prepares to face a Congress in which Democrats will hold far more power to investigate and challenge its agenda.
Choosing a sports promoter with no government experience for the podium would be a sharp break from tradition. Press secretaries have historically come from political communications, journalism or campaign work. White, by contrast, has spent more than two decades building the UFC into a global entertainment business.
Background: a long alliance
White is one of Trump’s most prominent allies in professional sports, Newsweek reported, and Mediaite described him as a longtime friend and early supporter of the president. Trump has been a fixture at UFC events for years, and the relationship has grown closer during his second term.
Over the summer, White organized a UFC event at the White House. A photo caption in CNBC’s report identified it as the UFC Freedom 250 card, held on the South Lawn on June 14 in Washington.
White has also been open about tying his business to his politics. Mediaite reported that in May, speaking on a podcast hosted by Katie Miller, he said he did not care whether his association with Trump had cost the UFC business, and that he wants to work with people he is “aligned with.”
What comes next
Key questions remain unanswered, including whether White would step away from running the UFC, whether he would accept a government role at all, and whether any of the fighters Trump named would take part. In the past, White has said publicly that he had no interest in joining the administration or entering politics.
For now, the White House has not issued a formal statement confirming the offer or describing its terms. Any decision by White would determine who speaks for the administration as it enters a new phase with Miller as chief of staff and a Congress newly controlled by Democrats.
