Florida: President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had offered the job of White House press secretary to his friend and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White, an announcement unconventional even by his standards and one that nobody in the White House immediately confirmed.
Trump, while at his golf club in Florida, posted on social media that he had made the offer to “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” to become the Republican president's chief spokesperson.
Trump said he had requested White to bring along several UFC fighters as ‘assistants’, naming Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison.
“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!” Trump wrote.
The White House did not respond on Saturday to messages seeking comment on the Truth Social post.
White was in London on Saturday for a boxing event. A spokesperson for UFC did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The UFC head shared an image of Trump's post on Instagram, along with an image of himself standing behind the podium in the White House press briefing room with the words “On to the next chapter”.
Trump's post came as his White House was undergoing a major transition following his party's losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. Democratic victories in areas Republicans had held for decades resulted in the GOP losing control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump on Friday announced that he was replacing his longtime adviser Susie Wiles with aide Stephen Miller as chief of staff. Miller is known as the architect of the administration's hard-line immigration policies and is among the most determined members of Trump's inner circle.
The shake-up follows a brief but tumultuous week in which Trump tried out a new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, who appeared uncomfortable during her only appearance before reporters before leaving the job after five days.
The post had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August. Trump remains without a chief spokesperson.
Trump is close friends with White and has attended several UFC events with him since returning to the White House in January 2025.
He brought White and the sport to the White House's South Lawn in June for a celebration marking America's 250th year of independence and the president's 80th birthday. A wire-mesh Octagon was constructed near the executive mansion under ‘The Claw’, a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens.
“It was an amazing experience, this was a one-of-one,” White said afterwards.
White also spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
(With agency inputs from AP via PTI, ANI)