Dana White says he will discuss White House press secretary offer with Trump
The UFC chief executive plans to meet the US president on Monday after Trump publicly urged him to take the vacant press secretary position.
By Amit Ricci ·
Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive Dana White says he plans to meet Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss an offer to become the US president’s press secretary. White outlined the planned meeting while speaking at a news conference following a boxing event in London on Saturday.
Trump had made his appeal public earlier on Saturday in a post on Truth Social, calling on the UFC executive to accept the position. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” the president wrote, adding: “Dana, please take the job!” White said the offer would be the subject of their Monday meeting.
The president’s proposed recruitment extended beyond White. Trump asked him to bring assistants, acknowledging that some were not from the United States. Alongside that request, he posted photographs and named six current and former UFC title holders whom he wanted to accompany the organisation’s chief executive.
Those named included Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, both from Russia’s Dagestan region, and Americans Justin Gaethje and Daniel Cormier. Trump also listed “Kayla Harris”, apparently referring to Kayla Harrison, as well as Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian who became a US citizen in 2025. Explaining his request, Trump wrote: “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left.”
The press secretary position has been unfilled since Katie Zacharia’s tenure ended in October, only five days after she took the role. Zacharia had replaced Karoline Leavitt, whose departure at the end of August preceded the brief tenure of her successor.
White’s relationship with Trump dates to their work together in the early 2000s. Their ties grew closer after White publicly supported Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. The president has also appeared at several UFC events in recent years.
That connection was on display in June, when the White House staged an evening of UFC fights. The event formed part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence.
A former UFC spokesperson already serves in the White House press operation. Communications Director Steven Cheung worked for the organisation from 2013 to 2016. Sharing Trump’s message on X, Cheung encouraged White to accept, writing: “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite! It’ll just be like old times!”
