President Donald Trump said he was joking when he offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, putting an end to more than 24 hours of speculation about whether the announcement was serious.
“I will tell you, I was only kidding, but Dana loves the idea, and there’s only one Dana. He’s great,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening on the tarmac 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 left the role 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 job of Press Secretary of the United States,” Trump wrote.
Trump suggested in his post that White should bring 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 none other. Dana, please take the job!” he added.
White said at a boxing event in London on Saturday evening that he was heading to Washington that night and had a meeting scheduled with Trump on Monday.
Trump told reporters that the meeting Monday was still on but that it was unrelated to the press secretary position.
“So he’s actually coming tomorrow,” Trump said Sunday night. “Of course, I was kidding. ... But Dana is actually coming tomorrow, actually, for other reasons. I think he was going to be in Washington, so he’s going to come over and see me.”
When Trump posted on Truth Social earlier Saturday, it was unclear whether his offer was a serious one.
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, captioned, “On to the next chapter.”
White also added a screenshot of Trump’s post to his Instagram Story.
Trump and White have long been friends, and Trump has attended many UFC fights while he has been in the White House.
White this year also organized a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, an event that was part of a slate commemorating the U.S.’ 250th birthday.
Many Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers attended the fight in July.
A spokesperson for the White House 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 she would leave her post to spend more time with her family.
The White House had another staff shake-up Friday, when chief of staff Susie Wiles said she would step down. Trump named longtime aide Stephen Miller as her 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 Zacharia and Leavitt, as a press secretary has not yet been named.
