President Donald Trump has publicly offered Dana White, the president and chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the job of White House press secretary.
Mr Trump announced the offer in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, writing: “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.”
He also asked Mr White to bring a group of fighters with him as assistants, naming Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, “even though some are not from our Country”. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” he wrote. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”
Mr White has not formally accepted the offer. He responded on social media with an image of himself standing at the White House briefing podium, but has made no public statement on whether he intends to take the job. The White House has not commented.
The press secretary post has been vacant since Katie Zacharia left the role after only five days in October. Karoline Leavitt, who held the job earlier in Mr Trump’s second term, departed earlier in the year. The vacancy is the latest in a wider shake-up of the president’s team after the Republicans’ heavy losses in the midterm elections, in which chief of staff Susie Wiles is also leaving and longtime adviser Stephen Miller is taking over on Monday.
Mr Trump and Mr White are longtime allies. The UFC staged a historic event, UFC Freedom 250, on the White House’s South Lawn in June, and Mr White has appeared frequently at the president’s side. He has previously ruled out joining the administration, according to reports, and it remains unclear whether Saturday’s offer is a formal appointment or a public invitation.
That uncertainty matters. Mr Trump is known for sharing satirical content on Truth Social, and no formal personnel announcement has been made. Until the White House confirms the appointment or Mr White accepts, the offer should be treated as an invitation made in public, not a done deal.
Note: The featured image is a file photo of Dana White at the UFC 189 World Tour in London in 2015, not from the White House.
Sources: Reuters, “Trump offers UFC chief Dana White top communications job” (https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-offers-ufc-chief-dana-white-top-communications-job-2026-11-07/); USA Today, “Trump says UFC President Dana White offered job as WH press secretary” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/11/07/trump-ufc-dana-white-press-secretary/92662587007/); The Wrap, “Trump Names UFC Chief Dana White as New Press Secretary” (https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/politics/trump-names-dana-white-ufc-press-secretary/)
