President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he was joking when he said he had offered UFC CEO Dana White the job of White House press secretary.
“I will tell you, I was only kidding,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Florida. He pointed to the UFC fighters he had suggested White bring as assistants.
🚨 LMAO! President Trump says he was just KIDDING about making Dana White White House Press Secretary — but then Dana actually liked the idea and he’s flying to DC anyway
“I WAS only kidding, but Dana LOVES the idea. You wouldn’t mess around with him so much!” 🤣
“That was an example of something where I was kidding, and then people said, you know, that’s actually a pretty good idea!”
Let Dana have at least ONE ROUND with the fake news at the podium
It would be glorious!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 8, 2026
Trump said he still expected White to visit him at the White House on Monday for other reasons.
In a Truth Social post a day earlier, Trump named several current and former UFC fighters as possible assistants, including Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. He included a collage depicting White at a lectern with the presidential seal alongside images of the fighters.
“Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!” Trump wrote.
White told reporters in London on November 7 that he planned to fly to Washington to meet with Trump, The Associated Press reported. Before the news conference, White shared an image on Instagram depicting himself at a White House lectern with the caption “On to the next chapter.”
The press secretary job remains vacant after Katie Zacharia left the role five days into her tenure, The Associated Press reported. Zacharia held her first briefing on October 13.
Trump named Stephen Miller to succeed Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff on Friday. Miller starts November 9, as The Dallas Express reported.
White introduced Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee before Trump accepted the party’s presidential nomination.
White and Trump appeared together at UFC Freedom 250, a June 14 fight card on the White House South Lawn. The event took place on Trump’s 80th birthday as part of the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. The Dallas Express previously covered White’s plans for the event.
