President Donald Trump used his Truth Social account on Saturday to say he has offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the president and chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The announcement, which did not clarify whether the UFC executive has accepted, lands after weeks of turnover in the administration’s communications operation and a day after the president replaced his chief of staff.
In the post, Trump described the longtime fight promoter as “a violent Fighter and Warrior” and urged him to take the position. He also asked White to bring along several prominent mixed martial arts figures as assistants, naming Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harris.
- Key Point: Trump announced on Truth Social that he had offered the White House press secretary role to UFC CEO Dana White, without saying whether the offer was accepted.
- Key Point: The post asked White to bring MMA fighters as assistants and said they were needed to “defend us against the Lunatic Left.”
- Key Point: The press secretary position has been effectively vacant since Karoline Leavitt left in August, apart from Katie Zacharia’s five-day stint in October.
- Key Point: The announcement came one day after Trump named Stephen Miller as chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.
A post that mixed praise with a roster of fighters
Trump’s message combined an endorsement of White’s combative style with a list of athletes he wanted installed alongside him in the briefing room. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” the president wrote, adding: “Dana, please take the job!”
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. I have requested that he bring with him assistants, even though some are not from our Country, of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harris. We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!
It was not immediately clear whether the president was speaking in jest, and the White House did not provide further detail on the status of the offer. White himself posted a screenshot of the announcement on his Instagram story, along with a picture of himself at the press gallery lectern, captioned “On to the next chapter.”
The UFC leader has no background in government policy, though he has spent decades dealing with reporters in his role running the fight promotion. He and Trump have been friends for years, and White was an early backer of Trump’s political career. In June, Trump hosted a UFC event on the White House grounds to mark the country’s 250th anniversary.
A press office still without a permanent voice
The administration has lacked a confirmed press secretary since Karoline Leavitt departed at the end of August. Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the job, said she was leaving to spend time with her young family after returning from maternity leave; she later joined Fox News as a contributor at the start of November.
Katie Zacharia was named to succeed her but lasted only five days in October. Her single briefing was marked by questions about her legal credentials, including her use of the title “attorney” despite having failed the California bar exam. Trump later said Zacharia had told him the job was “a lot tougher” than expected, and that he had welcomed her to “the world of Trump.”
Since then, no replacement has been installed. Speculation about possible candidates has circulated, including names from outside the administration, but the podium has remained unfilled. Asked last month whether he had anyone in mind, Trump told a reporter that many people wanted the job.
Staff shake-up signals a sharper second half
The press secretary announcement came a day after Trump named Stephen Miller, a longtime adviser known for hardline immigration views, as his new chief of staff. Susie Wiles, who had held the post since Trump returned to office in January 2025, stepped aside to take a role in the president’s political operation.
The change at the top of the staff hierarchy surprised political observers and was read as a sign that the president intends a more confrontational approach in his final two years, following Democratic gains in last week’s midterm elections.
White’s record is not without controversy. In 2023, video emerged of him slapping his wife at a nightclub in Mexico. He publicly apologized and said the criticism directed at him was justified.
There’s never an excuse. There’s no defense for this, and people should not be defending me, no matter what. All the criticism I’ve received this week is 100% warranted.
Whether the offer is serious or a rhetorical flourish, it places a sports executive with no governing experience at the center of a White House communications operation that has cycled through spokespeople at unusual speed. If White accepts, he would inherit a briefing room that has been without a steady occupant for months and a press strategy likely to be shaped by the more aggressive posture signaled by the chief of staff change. If he declines, the president will face fresh questions about who, if anyone, will speak for the administration as it enters a turbulent political stretch.