Dana White: Trump Offers UFC Chief White House Press Job
President Donald Trump has offered the White House press secretary job to UFC chief executive Dana White and suggested six fighters as aides. White has not said whether he will accept. He said he is flying to Washington for a meeting with Trump.
US President Donald Trump has offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Trump said in a social media post. White has not said whether he will accept.
Trump called White, who staged a cage-fighting event at the White House to mark the president's 80th birthday in June, "a violent Fighter and Warrior". No previous press secretary has been described that way.
Trump also said he asked White to bring six UFC fighters to serve as press aides. "We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," he wrote. "Dana, please take the job!"
Mixed signals on whether it is serious
It was initially unclear whether the offer was part of a real plan or a stunt meant to shift attention from his party's heavy losses in elections this week.
White did not respond at first. Some observers noted he might hesitate to give up the UFC, which has earned him a fortune estimated at more than $600m, for a government job that pays $195,000 a year.
Later, after reports that White had declined and that one presidential aide had called the offer a joke, White posted an Instagram story. It showed him in the White House briefing room, with the caption: "On to the next chapter."
Asked about the post at a news conference after a boxing match in London, White said he was on his way to see Trump.
The fighters named
Trump's post carried seven images. One appeared to be an AI-generated picture of White standing in front of the presidential seal in a press room. The others showed the six fighters.
They were Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison. Trump spelled Harrison's surname as "Harris".
Trump acknowledged that Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are not Americans. He did not mention that Nurmagomedov is reportedly close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nor did he mention that Makhachev has spoken out in defense of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel in Gaza.
Ties to the campaign
White campaigned for Trump in 2024. The first in a series of taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads broadcast by the White House before the midterms ended with footage of the birthday UFC event.
In that ad White said Trump "is the toughest, most resilient human being I have ever met in my life". He used the same wording several times during the 2024 campaign, including at the Republican national convention.
The press secretary post has been vacant for three weeks. Trump's previous pick, far-right commentator Katie Zacharia, resigned after trying and failing to dodge questions about why she described herself as an attorney despite having failed the bar exam.
White said he and Trump have a meeting set. "I'm going to meet with him, we have a meeting on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that," he said.
