President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he has offered the position of White House press secretary to Ultimate Fighting Championship President and CEO Dana White, a proposal delivered via social media from the president’s Florida golf club.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the combat sports executive as the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior,
and wrote, We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!
The president stated that his invitation extended to several current and former UFC mixed martial arts fighters as assistants, specifically naming Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harrison to join White in Washington. Trump noted that some of these requested assistants are foreign nationals.
Neither the White House nor a spokesperson for the UFC immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the announcement on Saturday. While CNN cited a source reporting that White had declined the president’s offer, White himself posted an image on Instagram stories showing him standing behind the White House press briefing room lectern with the caption, On to the next chapter.
White was in London on Saturday for a boxing event.
Stephen Miller Takes Press Secretary Role After Rapid Departures
The press secretary position has remained without a permanent chief spokesperson since Karoline Leavitt departed at the end of August.
Following Leavitt’s departure, Trump appointed Katie Zacharia to the role. However, Zacharia left the position after serving just five days, following a single, brief appearance before reporters on October 16 where she took questions from only three conservative outlets. Trump later told reporters he suggested Zacharia step down after speaking with her about whether the job was a fit.
On Friday, Trump announced that Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. The personnel changes arrive just three days after Democrats secured a landslide victory in the midterm elections, capturing majority control in both the House and the Senate.
Trump and White Recall Decades of Alliance
Trump and White share a friendship spanning more than two decades, beginning in the early 2000s when Trump regularly attended and supported early UFC events. White subsequently spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024, famously praising Trump during his initial 2016 campaign as a fighter.
Their alliance most recently resulted in the June 2026 hosting of the UFC Freedom 250 fight card on the South Lawn of the White House in celebration of Trump’s 80th birthday. As questions persist regarding whether White’s social media response was intended as a joke or a genuine acknowledgment, the administration has yet to clarify the status of the press secretary post.
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