Trump says Dana White press secretary offer was 'just a little fun'
President Donald Trump says he was only joking when he publicly offered UFC chief Dana White the vacant White House press secretary job.
By Marina Weber ·
US President Donald Trump has walked back his public invitation to Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White to become White House press secretary, saying the offer was meant as a joke.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said the suggestion was "just a little fun," though he insisted White "loves the idea."
The president had announced the supposed offer a day earlier on his Truth Social platform, writing that he was "pleased to announce" that White "has been offered the job" and declaring that "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other."
In the same post, Trump said he had asked White to bring several current and former mixed martial arts fighters with him as "assistants," adding, "We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left." He ended the message with the plea, "Dana, please take the job!"
On Sunday, Trump told reporters that White would still visit him in Washington on Monday but for "other reasons." "I think he's going to be in Washington. So he's going to come over and see me," the president said. "I will tell you, I was only kidding. But Dana loves the idea. And there's only one Dana. He's great."
White, questioned about the offer at a news conference on Saturday, did not say whether he would accept the post. He remarked that he had a "lot of jobs already" and said of the planned meeting with Trump, "I'm sure we'll have something to talk about after that."
The press secretary position has been empty since October, when Katie Zacharia resigned after less than five days in the role. She had succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who served from the start of Trump's second term and was the youngest press secretary in US history.
Trump's apparent job pitch followed a punishing midterm election for his party, in which Republicans lost their majorities in both houses of Congress.
White runs UFC along with PowerSlap, a regulated slap-fighting league, and recently launched the boxing promotion company Zuffa Boxing. He also sits on the board of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
A longtime Trump supporter, White spoke in favor of his White House bids at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and joined him on stage for his 2024 election victory speech. This summer, the UFC even held a cage match on the White House lawn.
