Trump wants UFC president as press secretary

President of the United States, Donald Trump. Photo: The White House

US President Donald Trump has publicly asked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White to become his new White House press secretary.

As reported by the BBC on Saturday, Trump made the request in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising White and describing him as someone who would bring a different approach to the role.

“Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” Trump wrote. “Dana, please take the job!”

However, it remains unclear whether the offer is genuine or whether Trump was making a joke.

The White House, UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, have been contacted for comments.

The position became vacant in mid-October following the departure of Katie Zacharia, who reportedly spent only a few days in the role.

In his post on Saturday, Trump also suggested that White bring several high-profile UFC fighters to the White House, describing them as people who could help defend the country against what he called the “Lunatic Left”.

Trump referred to White as a “violent Fighter and Warrior” and shared photographs of six fighters, including Russian mixed martial arts star Islam Makhachev.

White appeared to respond to the president’s post by sharing a photograph of himself standing behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room.

“On to the next chapter,” he captioned the Instagram post, although it was not immediately clear whether he was seriously considering the offer or joking.

White, who also heads Zuffa Boxing, was in London on Saturday for a boxing event featuring British former world champion Chris Billam-Smith and Jamaican-born British boxer Cheavon Clarke at the Copper Box Arena.

The UFC boss is a longtime friend and political ally of Trump, having publicly supported him during his presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

Their relationship dates back to the early days of the UFC’s growth. White and his business partners acquired the struggling organisation for $2 million in 2001, at a time when mixed martial arts faced widespread opposition across the United States.

In 1996, Republican Senator John McCain famously described the sport as “human cockfighting”, contributing to bans in several US states.

White has credited Trump with helping the UFC survive during that difficult period by allowing the organisation to stage two events at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2001, when other venues were reluctant to host its fights.

The relationship has remained strong over the years, with White becoming a prominent speaker at Republican National Conventions during Trump’s political campaigns.

Earlier this year, the UFC also staged a fight event on the White House lawn, further highlighting the close relationship between the president and the organisation.

White, however, has a history of confrontations with journalists. He has previously clashed with reporters during UFC news conferences and released controversial videos attacking media coverage of the sport.

In 2020, he criticised journalists who questioned the UFC’s decision to continue staging fights during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2009, he also faced criticism after releasing an expletive-filled video containing an anti-gay slur while responding to a journalist’s report about backstage credentials at UFC events.

Neither White nor the White House had officially confirmed whether the proposed appointment would proceed at the time of reporting.