Nov. 8 — Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Chief Executive Officer Dana White has declined an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to serve as the next White House Press Secretary, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Sunday.
The overture came to light on Saturday when President Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to publicly announce that he had extended an offer for the key communications post to the mixed martial arts promoter, praising him as a “fighter.”
“I am pleased to announce that Dana White has been offered the position of Press Secretary of the United States. He is a fighter,” Trump wrote in the post.
The president went on to suggest that White could bring along six UFC fighters to serve as his aides, attaching photographs of the fighters to the post. Trump framed the unconventional proposal as a defensive strategy against political opponents, stating: “We need people like this to protect us from the ‘crazy’ left. Dana will be a different kind of Press Secretary. Dana, please take the job!”
While a White House official subsequently downplayed the president’s social media post as a lighthearted jest, White avoided directly confirming or denying the offer during a press conference on Saturday, only noting that he is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
The episode comes amid ongoing instability within the White House communications apparatus following the departure of Karoline Leavitt. Trump subsequently appointed Katie Zacharia to the podium, only to dismiss her after just five days following a difficult press briefing—marking the briefest tenure for a White House Press Secretary in modern American history. Leavitt had stepped down in August after approximately 18 months to spend more time with her family, later joining Fox News.
The search for an effective spokesperson unfolds under heightened political pressure, as incoming Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress prepare to launch extensive legislative oversight and committee investigations into the administration.
White has maintained a close personal and political friendship with Trump spanning several decades, delivering speeches at the last three Republican National Conventions and playing an active role in mobilizing younger demographics during Trump’s successful reelection campaign. Earlier this year, Trump credited the UFC chief with connecting him to prominent digital figures: “He introduced me to people I’d never heard of. Young guys. All of a sudden, 20-year-old kids are interviewing me. I asked him, how do you know these people? They’re influencers.”
Neither the White House nor representatives for the UFC issued formal comments in response to requests regarding the turned-down offer.
Source: CNN Dispatches, Truth Social Statements & White House Press Pool Dispatches