White declines to detail conversations with Trump
At a London news conference Saturday, UFC head Dana White declined to describe what conversations he had with President Donald Trump about a White House press secretary offer, saying, “I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that.” Elsewhere in the news conference, White described ambitions to expand the Zuffa Boxing organization he runs with Saudi Arabian backers and hold more of its events around the world.
Asked how he would balance the job with the current positions he has in the fighting world, White replied, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.” He did not make clear whether he was seriously considering becoming the president’s primary spokesperson. White said he planned to fly to Washington right after the boxing event to meet Trump at the White House on Monday.
Trump had made the offer Saturday while at his golf club in Florida. In the Truth Social post, Trump said he was offering the job to “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” to become Trump’s chief spokesperson. Trump said he had asked White to bring several UFC fighters as “assistants,” adding, “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!”
Before the news conference, White shared on Instagram an image of Trump’s Truth Social post and an image of himself standing behind the podium in the White House press briefing room with the words “On to the next chapter.” The White House and a spokesperson for the UFC did not respond Saturday to messages inquiring about the Truth Social post.
The press secretary post had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August, leaving Trump without a chief spokesperson. Katie Zacharia left the role after five days, following her sole appearance before reporters.
On Friday, Trump announced that he was replacing longtime adviser Susie Wiles with aide Stephen Miller as the next chief of staff. The Associated Press reported that Wiles was seen as “something of a tempering force on the president’s impulses” and that Miller was known as “the architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies” and “among the most determined of Trump’s inner circle.”
Democratic candidates won historic victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections, including in areas Republicans had held for decades, and the results cost the GOP control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump is close friends with White and has attended several UFC events with him since returning to the White House in January 2025. White also spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
In June, Trump brought White and the sport to the White House’s South Lawn for the celebration of America’s 250th year of independence and Trump’s own 80th birthday. A wire-mesh Octagon was constructed near the executive mansion under “The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens. “It was an amazing experience, this was a one-of-one,” White said afterward.