President Donald Trump said he was joking when he offered the position of White House press secretary to Dana White, CEO and president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, ending more than 24 hours of speculation about whether the announcement was serious. “I’ll tell you I was just joking, but Dana loves the idea, and there’s only one Dana. It’s great,” Trump told reporters Sunday night at the track in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump sent out a surprise post Saturday on Truth Social saying he had offered White the job. The position has been vacant since Katie Zacharia stepped down after just five days last month. “I am pleased to announce that the great Dana White, a violent fighter and warrior, has been offered the position of Press Secretary of the United States,” Trump wrote. Trump suggested in his post that White should bring in several 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 no other. Dana, please take the job! ” White said at a boxing event in London on Saturday night that he was headed to Washington that night and had a meeting scheduled with Trump on Monday. Trump told reporters that Monday’s meeting was still going on but was not related to the press secretary position. “So he’s actually coming tomorrow,” Trump said Sunday night. “Of course, I was joking… But Dana is actually coming tomorrow, actually, for other reasons. I think she was going to be in Washington, so she’s coming to see me.” When Trump posted on Truth Social early Saturday, it was unclear whether his offer was serious. Shortly after Trump posted, White posted on Instagram what appears to be an AI-generated image of himself behind the lectern in the White House briefing room, with the caption: “On to the next chapter.” White also added a screenshot of Trump’s post to his Instagram Story. Trump and White have been friends for a long time, and Trump has attended many UFC fights while in the White House. White also hosted a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House this year, an event that was part of a slate to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. Many Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers attended the fight in July. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who had been White House press secretary since Trump returned to office in January of last year. Leavitt announced in August that he was leaving his position to spend more time with his family. The White House had another staff shakeup on Friday, when Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said she would resign. Trump named his former aide Stephen Miller as his replacement. Wiles’ departure made her the seventh woman to leave the Trump administration this year. So far, all of them have been replaced by men, except for Zacharia and Leavitt, as a press secretary has yet to be named.
