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Dana White apparently won’t be trading UFC press conferences for White House press briefings after all. After publicly offering White the role of White House Press Secretary, President Trump has reversed course.
After offering the UFC boss the role of White House Press Secretary on Saturday, President Trump was walking back the remarks by Sunday night.
Speaking to reporters in Florida before returning to Washington on Sunday, November 8, Trump said that his post about asking White to be the White House Press Secretary was a “joke.”
Donald Trump says he was actually joking about making UFC CEO Dana White his press secretary
Trump’s original Truth Social post on Saturday, however, presented the offer as an announcement, describing White as a fighter and suggesting several UFC stars could accompany him into the administration.
“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 on his social media website.
“I have requested that he bring with him assistants, even though some are not from our Country, of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harris. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
By Sunday evening, however, Trump was explaining that the proposed career change wasn’t serious.
“I was only kidding. But Dana loves the idea. And there’s only one Dana,” Trump told reporters.
According to Trump, the inclusion of UFC fighters as White’s proposed assistants should have made the joke clear. Given the pair’s relationship over the years, though, it’s easy to understand why people took his comments at face value.
Trump said White was still expected to visit him in Washington on Monday, November 9, but explained that the meeting concerned other matters. The UFC executive has supported him publicly for years, including appearances at Republican National Conventions, and the two have frequently appeared together at UFC events, including on the White House lawn for its Freedom 250 event in June.
White had contributed to the speculation himself, posting an image depicting him behind the White House briefing-room lectern with a caption suggesting he was moving into a new chapter. Reports also indicated that he was “seriously considering” Trump’s offer.
The press secretary position, meanwhile, has been vacant following Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure in the job, as she was fired after less than a week in the role.