UFC president and CEO Dana White has been offered the job of White House press secretary by US President Donald Trump, who made the offer public in a Truth Social post on Saturday, US time.
“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, according to The Hill and the New York Post.
Trump said he had asked White to bring “assistants” with him, naming a group of UFC figures that included Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes, along with two-time Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison.
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote, as reported by CNBC. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”
White later posted an Instagram photo of himself behind the White House press briefing lectern with the words “On to the next chapter”, the BBC reported. It remains unclear whether the exchange is genuine or tongue-in-cheek; no appointment has been confirmed. The BBC said it had asked the White House and TKO Holdings, the UFC’s parent company, for comment, while The Hill reported the White House did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the offer.
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The New York Post noted Trump posted images of growling UFC fighters alongside one of White in a suit behind a podium, which it said was a sign the offer might have been tongue-in-cheek.
A vacant role and a long friendship
The press secretary job has been vacant since mid-October, when Katie Zacharia left the role only days after taking it on, according to the BBC and CNBC. The offer also came a day after Trump announced that deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.
Trump and White have been friends for many years. CNBC noted the pair walked out of the White House onto the South Lawn together for the UFC Freedom 250 event on 14 June this year.
White has led the UFC since 2001. Neither a formal appointment nor White’s departure from UFC has been confirmed.
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