Trump Only Kidding: Dana White Press Secretary Offer Was a Joke
President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was only kidding when he offered the White House press secretary job to UFC chief executive Dana White. White still has a Monday meeting with Trump, which Trump says is about other matters.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was "only kidding" when he offered the White House press secretary job to Dana White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The comment ended more than 24 hours of speculation over whether the offer was serious.
"I will tell you, I was only kidding, but Dana loves the idea, and there's only one Dana, he's great," Trump told reporters on the tarmac in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Truth Social post
Trump had announced the offer a day earlier on Truth Social. He called White "a violent Fighter and Warrior" and suggested he bring UFC fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje and Amanda Nunes, as assistants to defend against the "Lunatic Left."
"Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!" he wrote.
Soon afterward, White posted on Instagram what appears to be an AI-generated image of himself behind the lectern in the briefing room. The caption read, "On to the next chapter."
White's response
White spoke at a boxing event in London on Saturday evening. He said he was heading to Washington that night and had a meeting with Trump on Monday.
He also appeared to brush aside the job. "I got a lot of jobs already," said White, a Trump ally and donor. "We have a meeting on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that."
Trump said the meeting is still on but has nothing to do with the position. "Of course, I was kidding ... But Dana is actually coming tomorrow, actually, for other reasons," he said.
Fighters and a cartoon
Trump explained the premise on his way back to the White House. With White in the briefing room, flanked by six fighters, reporters "wouldn't mess around with him so much," he said. "It was just a little fun."
Earlier on Sunday, the president shared an animated AI cartoon made by one of his supporters. It showed UFC fighters beating up journalists, including one who is body-slammed after asking, "Is Trump a threat to democracy?"
Trump also said the joke had found fans. It was "something where I was kidding, and then people said, 'You know, that's actually a pretty good idea,'" he said. He did not say who had backed it.
A vacant job
The position has been empty for about three weeks. Katie Zacharia left after just five days following criticism that she described herself as an attorney without being licensed in the US. She had replaced Karoline Leavitt, who announced in August that she would leave to spend more time with her family.
The White House had another shake-up on Friday. Chief of staff Susie Wiles said she would step down, and Trump named longtime aide Stephen Miller as her replacement.
Trump and White have long been friends. White organized a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn this year, part of events marking the US 250th birthday, and many administration officials and Republican lawmakers attended in July.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the press secretary job.
