Trump offers Dana White press secretary role, but reports differ on outcome
Trump publicly urged UFC chief Dana White to take the vacant press secretary job, though accounts differ on whether the offer was serious or declined.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
President Donald Trump publicly offered UFC CEO Dana White the vacant White House press secretary role, but the status of the Trump Dana White press secretary proposal remains unsettled. CNN reported that White declined the offer and that an aide described it as a joke, while Al Jazeera reported that White planned to meet Trump in Washington on Monday and had not committed to the job.
Trump made the offer in a Truth Social post on Saturday. He called White a “Fighter and Warrior” and said White, along with named UFC fighters Trump wanted as assistants, was needed to “defend us against the Lunatic Left,” according to CNN and Al Jazeera.
Why did Trump offer Dana White the press secretary job?
Trump’s public explanation centered on White’s fighting persona and his call for defenders against political opponents. The reporting also points to a long political and business relationship between the president and the UFC executive, as well as White’s connections to younger audiences reached through UFC and online personalities.
Trump and White worked together when Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City hosted UFC championship events in 2001 and 2002, Al Jazeera reported. White has since become a prominent Trump supporter, appearing at campaign events for years, donating $1 million to Trump’s 2020 campaign and speaking at that year’s Republican National Convention, according to Al Jazeera.
White also spoke at the last three Republican National Conventions, CNN reported. During Trump’s 2024 campaign, Trump said White had introduced him to younger influencers. CNN reported that White helped Republicans make gains with young male voters during Trump’s return to the White House.
That history gives context to the offer, but the reports do not establish a single confirmed motive beyond Trump’s own public remarks. CNN also reported that younger men shifted toward Democrats in the midterm elections; that is political context, not proof that it prompted the offer.
Was Dana White appointed White House press secretary?
No appointment was confirmed in the reporting. CNN cited a person familiar with the matter who said White had declined, and said an aide characterized Trump’s offer as a joke. Al Jazeera, published the following day, reported that White said he would travel to Washington for a Monday meeting with Trump, while noting that he already had many jobs.
White posted an image of himself behind the White House briefing-room lectern with the caption “On to the next chapter,” Al Jazeera reported. That post did not confirm that he had accepted the job.
The position was open after Karoline Leavitt left in August and her successor, Katie Zacharia, departed after five days, according to CNN and Al Jazeera. The competing accounts mean White should not be described as the incoming or confirmed press secretary.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.