Trump Says Dana White Press Secretary Offer Was a Joke

Trump said on November 8 that his suggestion to make UFC CEO Dana White the White House press secretary was a joke. He had floated the idea in a Truth Social post the day before, after press secretary Katie Zacharia left the job after five days.

The post also named six fighters Trump said White could bring on as assistants. Trump later shared a cartoon video showing White at a mock briefing with fighters attacking reporters. Asked whether he was serious, Trump pointed to the fighters’ appearances as evidence he was joking, while also saying White liked the idea and was capable of doing the job.

White said at a news conference on November 7 that he already had many jobs. He planned to see Trump at the White House on November 9, although Trump said the visit had a different purpose. Someone briefed on the situation said White had turned down the offer.

The suggestion caused confusion with Dana W. White, who previously served as the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson. She posted on LinkedIn that she was glad, for once, to be mistaken for the UFC executive. Trump had also named her in a post that included photos of fighters, among them athletes from Russia’s Dagestan region and Brazil, as well as Americans.

The episode came after Republicans suffered losses in the midterm elections. Commentator Howard Bryant argued that Trump’s use of the UFC and sports was an effort to draw attention and project strength, but said the gambit did not work. Trump said his post was “just a little fun,” and added that people had suggested it was a good idea.

Trump’s UFC Press Secretary Joke Couldn’t Hide Republican Losses

After Republicans were routed in the midterms, Trump reached for another sports spectacle: on November 7 he proposed UFC CEO Dana White for the vacant press secretary job. On November 8, he said he had been kidding. The attempt to pass the proposal off as fun did not erase the confusion it created.

Trump’s post named six fighters as possible assistants and described them as defenders against the “Lunatic Left.” He later shared a cartoon video in which fighters attacked reporters during a mock briefing. Asked about the proposal, he cited the fighters as a clue that the post was a joke, but still claimed White liked the idea and could do the job.

White said he already had many jobs and planned to see Trump at the White House on November 9 for other reasons. Someone briefed on the situation said White had turned down the offer. Dana W. White, the former Pentagon spokesperson who shares his name, also made clear she was not a candidate.

Trump’s resort to sports fits a familiar pattern of using spectacle to command attention and project toughness. But the episode arrived after voters delivered a rebuke to Republicans, and the UFC imagery could not make the political setback disappear. The outgoing press secretary had lasted just five days, adding to the sense of disorder surrounding the appointment.

Trump’s Dana White Joke Became Another Media Distraction

Trump said on November 8 that he was kidding when he floated UFC CEO Dana White for the vacant press secretary job. His post the day before also named six fighters as potential assistants, making the tongue-in-cheek nature of the idea clear to him even as it triggered confusion and criticism.

The UFC executive said he already had many jobs and was set to see Trump at the White House on November 9 for other reasons. Someone briefed on the situation said White had turned down the offer. Dana W. White, a former Pentagon spokesperson, addressed the mistaken identity too, saying she was glad that people had confused her with the UFC chief for once.

Trump pointed to the fighters’ appearances and the cartoon video he shared as signs that he was joking. He also said White liked the idea and was capable, a remark that kept the speculation alive even after his clarification. The post was a bit of political humor, but its critics treated it as proof of confusion.

The press secretary opening followed Katie Zacharia’s departure after five days. The episode unfolded after Republican midterm losses, which commentator Howard Bryant framed as a repudiation of Trump and his use of sports. That framing turns a joke and a personnel vacancy into a broader political verdict; Trump’s own explanation was that he was having fun and that others then decided the idea might work.