President Donald Trump said Sunday that his offer to make UFC CEO Dana White the next White House press secretary was a joke, after White publicly indicated he was flying to Washington to meet with the president.
“I was only kidding,” Trump told Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan in West Palm Beach, Florida, as he prepared to return to Washington. “Dana loves the idea, and there’s only one Dana. He’s great.”
Trump explained that his original Truth Social post was meant as a humorous announcement, pointing to the list of UFC fighters he had jokingly named as White’s prospective assistants.
“You would have thought that people would have said he’s having a good time,” Trump said, referring to the reaction to the post. “But so I was kidding, of course.”
The president added that White was still expected to visit him in Washington on Monday, though he said the UFC executive would be coming for other reasons.“He’s actually coming tomorrow,” Trump said. “I think he’s going to be in Washington, so he’s going to come over and see me.”
Trump first teased the appointment Saturday, posting on Truth Social that White had been offered the job and urging him to accept: “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. He then named Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harrison as White’s proposed assistants, saying the group was needed to “defend us against the Lunatic Left.”
“Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” Trump added, closing with a direct appeal: “Dana, please take the job.”
White appeared to play along with the announcement. On Saturday, he told reporters he was flying to Washington and had a meeting scheduled with Trump on Monday. He also posted an AI-generated video depicting himself at the White House press briefing podium, captioned, “On to the next chapter.”
CNN reported that a source close to White said he had declined the offer. White had not publicly confirmed whether he intended to accept before Trump clarified that the announcement was not serious.
Trump and White have been friends for years, with Trump frequenting UFC events in the past and the two recently worked together to organize a UFC event on the White House South Lawn, held on the president’s 80th birthday.
The press secretary position has been in flux since the departure of Karoline Leavitt. Katie Zacharia briefly held the role for five days before the White House announced she would be “transitioning out.”
Trump’s latest comments appear to put an end to speculation that White might take over the briefing room, though the president left little doubt that he remains an admirer of the UFC chief.
“I think Dana likes the idea, and he is a very capable guy,” Trump said. “That was an example of something where I was kidding, and then people said, ‘You know, that’s actually a pretty good idea.’”
