Trump asks Dana White to become White House press secretary
US President Donald Trump has asked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White to become White House press secretary, in a social media post.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote, 'Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!'
The vacancy for White House press secretary has been open since mid-October, when Katie Zacharia exited after just a few days on the job.
Trump's post comes after his fellow Republicans were routed in the US midterm elections, losing their congressional majorities.
In his announcement, Trump called the UFC boss 'a violent Fighter and Warrior' and asked that White bring a number of high-profile UFC fighters with him on the job. Trump's social media post was accompanied by photos of the six fighters.
Trump wrote, 'We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left.'
Following Trump's post, White posted an Instagram photo of himself behind the podium in the White House press briefing room. The caption read, 'On to the next chapter,' though it was unclear if the post was tongue-in-cheek.
The BBC has asked the White House and TKO Holdings, the parent company of UFC, for comment.
White is famously combative. He has at times clashed with journalists covering the sport during news conferences.
In 2020, he released a video targeting reporters who had questioned the UFC's decision to hold fights early in the pandemic. In 2009, he released an expletive-laden video tirade using an anti-gay slur while rebutting a journalist's story about changes to backstage credentialing rules at UFC events.
White is a longtime ally — and friend — of Trump. When White and his business partners bought the then-struggling UFC organisation for $2m in 2001, the sport was facing intense bipartisan backlash.
Just five years earlier, Republican Senator John McCain had famously labelled mixed martial arts 'human cockfighting', sparking bans in 36 US states.
White told CBS, the BBC's US partner, in 2025: 'None of the venues wanted [the UFC]. They didn't believe in it. They didn't like it, and they were worried about the type of crowd that would show up for this type of event.' With mainstream arenas shutting them out, White credits Trump with saving the organisation by hosting two UFC events at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2001.
This summer, the UFC held a cage match on the White House lawn. White became a speaker for Trump's White House campaigns at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
It is still not clear whether White will accept Trump's offer. Nor is it clear whether his Instagram post was a joke or a genuine hint.
