The president Donald Trump announced this Saturday that he offered the position of White House Press Secretary to Dana White, president and CEO of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, leaving the world wondering whether it was a serious proposal or a joke.
In the message, Trump described White as "a great fighter and warrior" and directly urged him to accept the position: "Dana, take the job!"
Additionally, he requested to bring along as assistants six figures from mixed martial arts: Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and "Kayla Harris," a name that the media identified as a mistake for Kayla Harrison, the Olympic judo champion and current UFC women's bantamweight champion.
Trump's justification was as striking as the proposal itself: "We need these people to defend ourselves against the crazy left," he wrote, also acknowledging that some of the proposed fighters "are not from our country," referring to figures like Makhachev and Nurmagomedov, both hailing from Dagestan, Russia.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation, and according to Reuters it was unclear whether the offer was genuine or had a humorous tone. White also did not publicly confirm having accepted.
The announcement comes at a time of notable instability in that position. Karoline Leavitt, the youngest spokesperson in the history of the role, left on August 27, 2026, for family reasons.
Trump then chose Katie Zacharia —a conservative lawyer and advisor to Trump Media & Technology Group— as his successor, but she was removed from the position just five days later on October 16, after a single 14-minute press conference with only three journalists from conservative outlets.
Since then, the position has remained vacant, making the announcement about White Trump's third attempt to fill the role in less than three months.
The relationship between Trump and White dates back to 2001, when the then real estate mogul allowed the UFC to hold fights at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, as the organization was struggling to find venues.
White has publicly supported Trump at the Republican conventions of 2016, 2020, and 2024, and donated one million dollars to the super PAC America First Action in 2020.
The most recent highlight of that alliance was the UFC Freedom 250 event, held on June 14, 2026, in the south lawn of the White House, coinciding with Flag Day and Trump's 80th birthday.
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