Trump Offers Press Secretary Job to UFC Chief Dana White in Post

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has asked Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to become White House press secretary. He made the offer in a post on Truth Social, according to the BBC, The Guardian and Fox News. The job has been vacant since mid-October.

It is not clear whether the offer is genuine. Fox News reported that the post did not establish that White had accepted, and the BBC said it had asked the White House and UFC for comment.

What Trump wrote and how White responded

Trump described White in combative terms and urged him to bring several high-profile UFC fighters along. According to The Guardian, he wanted the six fighters to serve as press aides. Trump said the group was needed to defend the administration against what he called the "Lunatic Left." He closed the post with: "Dana, please take the job!"

The fighters shown in the post were Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, whose surname Trump rendered as "Harris," The Guardian and Fox News noted. Trump acknowledged that some of them are not American.

After the post appeared, White shared an Instagram photo of himself standing at the lectern in the White House briefing room, the BBC and Fox News reported. His caption suggested a new chapter was next. The BBC said it was unclear whether the post was tongue-in-cheek. The Guardian reported there was no immediate response from White.

How the vacancy arose: a timeline

• June 14, 2026: The UFC held an event on the White House South Lawn, which Fox News called UFC Freedom 250. The Guardian said it marked Trump's 80th birthday.
• August: Karoline Leavitt left the press secretary job, according to Fox News.
• Oct. 9: Trump announced Katie Zacharia as Leavitt's successor, Fox News reported.
• Oct. 12: Zacharia began work, according to ABC News as cited by Fox News.
• Oct. 16: Fox News Digital reported that Zacharia was leaving the post. The Guardian said she was forced to resign after failing to dodge questions about why she called herself an attorney despite having failed the bar exam.
• Oct. 23: Asked about finding a replacement, Trump told reporters he was in no rush, Fox News reported.
• Nov. 7: Trump publicly asked White to take the job.

Who Dana White is and his ties to Trump

White is a longtime friend and ally of the president. The BBC reported that he and his partners bought the struggling UFC for $2 million in 2001, when mixed martial arts faced heavy backlash. White credits Trump with helping save the organization by hosting two UFC events at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that year.

White spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, according to the BBC. Fox News reported that he also spoke at Trump's 2024 election-night celebration. The BBC described him as famously combative and said he has at times clashed with journalists who cover the sport.

In a November 2024 interview with Sports Business Journal, cited by Fox News, White said he had no personal political aspirations. Fox noted that the remark came two years before Saturday's post and does not show how he views the latest proposal.

Why it matters for the public

The press secretary is the administration's main daily voice to reporters, and so to the public, on what the White House is doing. With the job open since mid-October, that role has had no permanent occupant.

The offer also raises practical questions. The Guardian reported that some observers noted White might hesitate to leave the UFC, which has earned him a fortune estimated at more than $600 million, for a government job paying $195,000 a year. The Guardian also said it was unclear whether the offer was a real plan or an attempt to shift attention from the heavy losses Republicans suffered in this week's elections. The BBC reported that Republicans lost their congressional majorities.

What remains unresolved

Neither White nor the White House had publicly confirmed any arrangement as of the reports. Fox News said its OutKick outlet had asked the White House and UFC for comment, and the BBC said it was trying to reach White, who was at a boxing event in London on Saturday.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News, The Guardian, Fox News