Trump says Dana White press secretary offer was a joke ahead of planned meeting

President Donald Trump has said he was joking when he publicly offered UFC chief executive Dana White the vacant White House press secretary position, although the two men are still expected to meet on Monday. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Florida on Sunday, Trump said he was “only kidding” about the appointment. He repeated the explanation several times, arguing that the proposed assistants—well-known UFC fighters—should have made the humorous nature of the post clear.

Trump had announced the offer in a Truth Social post on Saturday. He described White as a “violent Fighter and Warrior” and suggested that UFC figures could serve as assistants to help “defend us against the Lunatic Left”. White later posted an image appearing to show him behind the White House press-room lectern with the caption “On to the next chapter”.

Al Jazeera also reported that Trump posted an animated image of White in the briefing room alongside fighters, including one shown body-slamming a reporter. White is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday. He said after the original post that he already had many jobs, but added that he expected to have more to discuss after the meeting.

Trump said White “loves the idea” and that there was only one Dana, leaving some uncertainty about whether the meeting could involve a serious role despite the president’s clarification. The press secretary position has been vacant for close to a month. According to Al Jazeera, Katie Zacharia left less than a week after taking the job following criticism that she had presented herself as a US-licensed lawyer without holding such a licence.

She had succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who left at the end of August, citing the needs of her growing family. White has been a longtime Trump ally and donor. He has appeared alongside Trump at campaign events for nearly a decade, donated $1m to Trump’s campaign and spoken at a Republican National Convention.

Trump has also supported the UFC, including by hosting an event at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City in 2001. White helped turn the UFC from a struggling combat-sports organisation into a global business. He became its president after an acquisition in 2001 and became chief executive in 2023 following the merger with World Wrestling Entertainment, a transaction valued at about $21bn, according to Al Jazeera.

The exchange came days after Trump’s Republican Party suffered major losses in the midterm elections, according to Al Jazeera. The supplied reports do not establish whether White is being considered for the press secretary job beyond the joking public remarks, but they confirm that a direct meeting is scheduled.