Why Trump wants UFC chief Dana White as his new White House press secretary

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief executive Dana White is set to meet United States President Donald Trump on Monday to discuss taking the job of White House press secretary.

Trump announced the offer on Saturday, days after his Republican Party suffered record losses in midterm elections. In a post on Truth Social, the president praised White as “a violent Fighter and Warrior” who would bring along leading UFC fighters as “assistants” to “defend us against the Lunatic Left”.

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But it remains unclear how serious the offer is. In a news conference on Saturday, White confirmed he would travel to Washington, DC, to meet with Trump. But he also signalled concerns about his existing workload.

“I got a lot of jobs already,” White, a Trump ally and donor, said. “We have a meeting on Monday, so I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that.”

White also posted a photo to Instagram Stories of himself standing behind the White House podium. Its caption read, “On to the next chapter.”

Trump, too, posted his own AI-generated memes about the potential hire.

On Sunday, he shared an animated cartoon of White in the White House briefing room, flanked by a row of fighters. One of them body-slams a reporter who asks, “Is Trump a threat to democracy?”

The press secretary role has been vacant since Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure ended ‌last ⁠month. She left the post within five days of being hired after facing criticism that she presented herself as a lawyer without being licensed in the US.

Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down from the role at the end of August, citing the needs of her growing family.

But why is the head of a mixed martial arts franchise being considered for the new public face of the Trump administration? Al Jazeera explains that and more in this brief explainer.

Who is Dana White?

A former bouncer and small-time boxer, White began his career as a businessman by opening a boxing gym in Boston where he trained other fighters.

He later moved to Las Vegas, where he continued to run gyms and manage emerging fighters.

The UFC was founded in 1993, at about the time White resettled in Las Vegas. The organisation sought to offer an arena for fighters from different disciplines – from boxing to wrestling to jujitsu – to face each other in “no-holds-barred” competition.

In 2001, White convinced two casino magnate friends to buy the UFC for $2m and name him president. Since then, he has built the company up through big fights and lucrative pay-per-view television deals.

He has been a fixture in the UFC in the more than two decades since. White has been credited with turning the fledgling franchise into a global business that brought mixed martial arts into the mainstream.

In 2016, the UFC was sold for $4bn, and in 2023, White became its CEO after a merger with World Wrestling Entertainment valued at some $21bn.

How do Trump and White know each other?

White has been a longtime supporter of Trump, appearing by his side at campaign events for nearly a decade.

Trump, in turn, has a history of hosting UFC fights as far back as 2001. At the time, UFC was struggling against criticism that the sport was too violent.

White had just taken up his position as UFC president, and he and Trump came to an agreement to host that year’s UFC championship at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The next year, the UFC returned to the Taj Mahal.

Speaking in support of Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, White recalled how the early collaboration helped open doors for the UFC, making other venues more accessible.

“No arenas wanted us,” White said at the time. “This guy reached out, and he’s always been a friend to me.”

The 2016 election cycle would mark Trump’s first successful bid for public office. In 2018, White was invited to visit the White House during Trump’s inaugural term as president.

During the 2020 elections, White again endorsed Trump as he sought a second term as president. White also donated $1m to Trump’s campaign and was a key speaker at the Republican Party’s national convention that year.

“I’ve known this man for 20 years. We’ve actually become even closer since he’s become the president of the United States,” White told supporters at a rally in Colorado. “He’s a fighter. He loves this country. He’s doing great things for this country, and we’ve got to win this election again.”

Trump lost the 2020 race to Democrat Joe Biden. But four years later, in 2024, he launched another re-election bid, and successfully won a second term.

During that campaign, Trump credited White with helping him connect with younger voters.

“He introduced me to people I never heard of, young kids,” Trump told Time Magazine in May. “I was being interviewed by 20-year-old kids. I’m saying, ‘Where the hell did you meet these people?’ They’re called influencers.”

How has UFC shaped Trump’s second term?

Experts say Trump’s 2024 campaign benefitted significantly from his UFC connections.

Ahead of his victory, Trump courted influencers like UFC fan Theo Von and UFC host Joe Rogan, whose podcast boasts about 11 million listeners per episode.

Trump has also used his second term as president to elevate the UFC’s profile, weaving one of its events into plans to celebrate the 250th US Independence Day.

Dubbed “UFC Freedom 250”, the tournament was given unusual access to national monuments for a commercial event.

White, for instance, hosted a weigh-in for fighters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with uniformed military personnel standing as an honour guard. The fights themselves were held on the lawn of the White House.

Trump called the event “one of the most exciting days in the history of our fabled White House”.

But critics warned the event could constitute a conflict of interest: In the months before the fight, Trump reportedly bought up to $50,000 of stock in TKO Holding, the UFC’s parent company.

A lawsuit also challenged the UFC’s use of public facilities, calling the event “deeply corrupt”.

How is the announcement being received?

Some opposition figures have dismissed Trump’s idea of appointing White as press secretary as a way to distract attention from the midterm elections.

During the November 3 elections, Trump’s Republican Party suffered record losses, losing majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Melat Kiros, a Democrat elected to represent Colorado in the House, said on Saturday that Trump’s offer to White “demonstrates how deeply unserious this man is, how ridiculous this administration is”.

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, meanwhile, said Trump’s choice raised questions about the president’s wellbeing.

“It would be really funny if it wasn’t dangerous, if he wasn’t the president,” Kelly said. “Countries around the world are continuing to laugh at us because of what he’s doing.”

There has also been some speculation that Trump may have tapped the wrong Dana White.

A woman by the same name formerly worked as a Pentagon spokesperson during Trump’s first term. She has denied being approached for the press secretary role.

“To everyone texting me congratulations: thank you, but you have the wrong Dana White,” she wrote on LinkedIn.