Trump Says Dana White Press Secretary Offer Was ‘Only Kidding,’ but UFC Boss Still Heading to White House

President Donald Trump said Sunday that his offer to make UFC CEO Dana White the next White House press secretary was a joke, though the longtime friends are still set to meet in Washington on Monday.

“I will tell you, I was only kidding,” Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. He added that White loves the idea and called him a great and very capable guy.

The president said the roster of UFC fighters he listed as White’s would-be assistants should have tipped everyone off that the announcement was all in good fun.

Trump made the original announcement Saturday on Truth Social, declaring that he had offered the job to White, whom he described as a violent fighter and warrior. The post predicted White would be a press secretary unlike any other and ended with a direct plea for him to take the job.

Trump’s post also named several current and former UFC champions as proposed assistants, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier and Justin Gaethje, noting that some of them are not from the United States.

White appeared to play along. He posted a photo on Instagram of himself standing behind the lectern in the White House briefing room with a caption about moving on to the next chapter. At a Zuffa Boxing press conference in London on Saturday, White said he would fly to Washington to discuss the offer.

On Sunday, Trump doubled down on the bit before walking it back, posting an animated video to Truth Social showing White and a group of UFC fighters in the briefing room. In the cartoon, the fighters attack reporters.

Trump said White’s Monday visit is happening for other reasons.

The press secretary job remains open. Katie Zacharia left the post in October after just five days on the job.

The episode comes amid a broader White House shake-up following Republican losses in last Tuesday’s midterm elections. On Friday, Trump announced that chief of staff Susie Wiles was departing and that Stephen Miller would take her place.

White is one of Trump’s most prominent and longtime allies, with a friendship that spans roughly 25 years. He spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and organized a UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House in June.

Although White has previously said he wants nothing to do with politics, he has made clear he remains firmly in Trump’s corner. Sportsbooks had even placed him among the favorites for the vacant press secretary role before the president’s clarification.