Trump said White’s Monday visit was for “other reasons”

Dana White, the chief executive of Ultimate Fighting Championship, said on Saturday that he was “sure we’ll have something to talk about” with Donald Trump at a Monday meeting about the White House press secretary job, but did not say whether he would accept it. Asked about Trump’s offer at a Saturday news conference, White said he had “lot of jobs already.”

BBC News reported that White leads UFC and PowerSlap, a regulated slap-fighting promotion league, and had recently launched the promotion company Zuffa Boxing. White is also a board member of Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

BBC News also reported that UFC staged a cage match on the White House lawn this summer, with Trump and thousands of others watching the fight.

BBC News reported that White appeared as a speaker in support of Trump’s White House campaigns at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024. White also appeared on stage for Trump’s victory speech in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump made the offer public on Saturday on Truth Social, saying he was “pleased to announce” that White “has been offered the job” and adding, “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other.” In the post, Trump said he had asked White to bring with him several current and former mixed martial arts fighters as “assistants.” He wrote, “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” and added, “Dana, please take the job!”

White said later that day he was going to meet the president on Monday, but would not be drawn on whether he would take the vacant position.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters White was visiting him on Monday for “other reasons.” Trump said, “I think he’s going to be in Washington. So he’s going to come over and see me.” He continued, “I will tell you, I was only kidding. But Dana loves the idea. And there’s only one Dana. He’s great,” and added, “But, it was it was just a little fun.” Trump’s description did not settle whether White would take the post, and the White House had not named a successor as of Sunday.

The press secretary role has been vacant since October, when Katie Zacharia quit after less than five days in the job. She had taken over from Karoline Leavitt, who BBC News reported was the youngest press secretary in US history and had held the role since Trump began his second term.

Trump’s job offer came after the midterm elections, in which the Republican Party lost its majority in both houses of Congress.