UFC CEO Dana White declines Trump’s offer to become press secretary, source says
By Kaitlan Collins, Isabelle D’Antonio, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he offered the White House press secretary job to Dana White, but a source familiar with the matter says the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO declined the unorthodox idea.
“I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States,” Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social.
He said he requested White bring “assistants,” listing six UFC fighters and posting their photos.
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!” he added.
While one aide said Trump was joking about the offer, the president’s post came as he’s continued to search for a new press secretary following Karoline Leavitt’s departure and Katie Zacharia’s five-day stint in the role.
Trump has struggled to find someone to fill a crucial position that he is personally invested in — a matter that has only become more important after Democrats won control of Congress and pledged to investigate his administration.
On Saturday, White House communications director Steven Cheung reposted the president’s message, adding, “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite!”
CNN has reached out to the White House and UFC for comment.
Trump fired Zacharia after one rocky briefing, making her stint as press secretary the shortest in history.
Leavitt, who served as press secretary for a year and a half, left her role in August, saying she wanted to spend more time with her young family. She joined Fox News as a contributor this month.
White has spent years as one of Trump’s most visible allies — speaking at the last three Republican National Conventions and helping the GOP make inroads with the young male voters key to Trump’s return to the White House.
“He introduced me to people I never heard of, young kids,” Trump said of White earlier this year. “I mean, I was being interviewed by 20-year-old kids. I’m saying, ‘Where the hell did you meet these people?’ They’re called influencers.”
Young men, however, began slipping away from Trump, who has faced mounting criticism from some of the figures — such as podcaster Joe Rogan — who helped introduce him to new audiences in 2024.
The president hosted a UFC fight on the White House lawn this summer, part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, as he sought to appeal to those male voters.
Those efforts didn’t pay off, as the demographic shifted toward Democrats in Tuesday’s midterms, helping the party win majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Trump has signaled more staffing changes could be on the way. On Friday, he ousted his longtime chief of staff Susie Wiles and replaced her with Stephen Miller, one of his most hardline and loyal aides who will take over the role starting Monday.
“I’ll be doing maybe a few changes,” he told CBS News on Friday.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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CNN’s Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.
