Trump says he was joking about offering Dana White press secretary role

US President Donald Trump has clarified that he was only kidding when he suggested that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White should become the White House press secretary. The President told the media on Sunday that the invitation was just a little fun, despite previously claiming on his Truth Social platform that White would be a press secretary like none other.

The position has remained vacant since October following the resignation of Katie Zacharia, who departed after less than five days in the role. She had succeeded Karoline Leavitt, the youngest press secretary in US history, who served since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. The President's initial public offer arrived following a significant defeat in the midterm elections, where the Republican Party lost its majority in both houses of Congress.

In his social media post on Saturday, Donald Trump had stated he was pleased to announce that Dana White had been offered the job. He further requested that the UFC chief executive bring several current and former mixed martial arts fighters to serve as assistants, writing, We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana, please take the job!

Dana White, who also leads PowerSlap and the promotion company Zuffa Boxing, is a board member of Meta and has supported Donald Trump’s campaigns at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024. When asked about the offer at a news conference on Saturday, the UFC boss noted that he had a lot of jobs already. He confirmed he was scheduled to meet the President on Monday but declined to comment on whether he would accept the position.

Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that the pair are set to meet for other reasons, stating, I think he's going to be in Washington. So he's going to come over and see me. The President added that while Dana loves the idea, he was only kidding, noting that there is only one Dana and he is great.