President Trump has offered UFC boss Dana White the empty White House press secretary job, asking him to bring champion fighters along “to defend us against the Lunatic Left.”
Story Highlights
- Trump offered Dana White, the head of the UFC fighting league, the job of White House press secretary in a social media post.
- The job has been empty since Karoline Leavitt left in August and her replacement quit after five days.
- Trump named six current or former UFC champions as White’s assistants: Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison.
- White said he would fly to Washington and meet Trump at the White House on Monday, November 9.
- White has not said yes or no in public. One report, citing an unnamed source, says he turned the job down.
- On Sunday, November 8, Trump said, “I will tell you, I was only kidding,” though he said White would still visit on Monday.
Trump’s Unusual Job Offer
On Saturday, November 7, President Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media site, that he had offered the press secretary job to Dana White. White is the chief executive of the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest mixed martial arts league, and a longtime friend of the president. “I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States,” Trump wrote. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”
Trump made the offer because the job is open. The press secretary is the president’s main spokesman, the person who stands at the podium and answers reporters’ questions for the White House. Karoline Leavitt left the post at the end of August. Katie Zacharia took over but left after five days in October, according to reports. The job has been empty since.
Bring the Champions
Trump wanted more than White alone. He asked him to bring UFC fighters as his assistants, “even though some are not from our Country.” He named Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, all current or former UFC champions. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, cheered the idea. Cheung worked for White’s company from 2013 to 2016. “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite! It’ll just be like old times!” he wrote on X. The White House did not respond Saturday to messages about the offer.
What White Has Said So Far
White was in London on Saturday for a boxing event. At a news conference there, he said he would fly to Washington and meet Trump at the White House on Monday, November 9. “I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that,” he said. He would not say what he and the president had already discussed.
Asked how he would fit the job in with his work in the fight world, White said, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.” He also shared Trump’s post on Instagram with a photo of himself at the White House briefing room podium and the words “On to the next chapter,” according to reports.
On Saturday, one report said White had turned the offer down. That report cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter. White and the White House have not confirmed it. White has not publicly said whether he will take the job.
What Comes Next
On Sunday, November 8, asked whether he was serious, Trump said, “I will tell you, I was only kidding.” He added, “But Dana is actually coming tomorrow.” The meeting on Monday, November 9, is the next step. The press secretary is a White House staff job, so the president can fill it on his own, with no vote in the Senate. Until someone takes the job, the post stays empty.
Either way, Trump’s post showed the kind of spokesman he pictured at the podium: a “Fighter and Warrior” with a team ready to take on his critics.
Sources:
espn.com, abc7chicago.com, cnn.com, abc27.com, variety.com, nytimes.com
