US President Donald Trump has made a striking and unconventional public appeal to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Chief Executive Dana White, asking the high-profile sports executive to step into the role of White House press secretary via a social media post.
The proposal, shared on Truth Social, quickly captured widespread attention across political and sports media circles, though immediate questions arose regarding whether the public job offer was intended to be taken literally. "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other," Trump wrote in his post, adding a direct plea: "Dana, please take the job!" In the wake of the announcement, the BBC reached out to the White House, the UFC, and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, seeking official comment on the unexpected overture.
The vacancy for the high-profile White House press secretary position has remained open since mid-October, following the departure of Katie Zacharia, who exited the administration after serving in the role for just a few days. Trump’s public recruitment effort arrived shortly after a bruising cycle in the US midterm elections, which saw his fellow Republicans routed at the polls and stripped of their congressional majorities, prompting a renewed focus on communication strategy within the West Wing.
In his Saturday afternoon post, Trump leaned heavily into martial arts imagery, describing White as a "violent Fighter and Warrior." The president went on to request that White bring a number of high-profile UFC fighters with him to Washington to join his administration, explicitly noting that he wanted them included "even though some are not from our Country." Accompanying the post were photographs of six prominent fighters. "We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," Trump wrote.
The response from White was swift and added to the ambiguity surrounding the proposal. Shortly after Trump’s message circulated online, White published a photograph on Instagram depicting himself standing behind the official lectern inside the White House press briefing room. "On to the next chapter," White’s accompanying caption read, though observers immediately questioned whether the social media post was entirely tongue-in-cheek or signaled a genuine willingness to enter the political sphere.
At the time of the social media exchange, White was thousands of miles away from Washington, attending to professional duties as the chief of Zuffa Boxing. He was spotted ringside in London on Saturday for a high-profile fight at the Copper Box Arena featuring British former world champion Chris Billam-Smith and Jamaican-born Briton Cheavon Clarke. Reporters attempted to reach White in London for clarification regarding his potential transition to the White House, but immediate comments were difficult to secure given his busy schedule.
Known for his famously combative demeanor, White has frequently clashed with journalists covering mixed martial arts during high-profile news conferences and media events. His history with the press includes notable friction over editorial coverage and organizational decisions. In 2020, White released a fiery video directly targeting reporters who had publicly questioned the UFC’s controversial decision to push forward with live fight events during the early stages of the global coronavirus pandemic. Years earlier, in 2009, he released an expletive-laden video tirade that included an anti-gay slur while forcefully rebutting a journalist’s investigative story concerning alterations to backstage credentialing rules at UFC events.
Despite his sharp interactions with the media, White shares a deep, long-standing personal and professional alliance with Trump. Their relationship dates back more than two decades to a critical juncture in the history of mixed martial arts. When White and his business partners acquired the struggling UFC organization for $2 million in 2001, the sport was facing an intense, bipartisan wave of political and cultural backlash.
Just five years prior to the acquisition, prominent Republican Senator John McCain had famously labeled mixed martial arts "human cockfighting," a characterization that triggered legislative bans on the sport across 36 US states. Reflecting on the bleak early days of the promotion, White recounted the industry’s pariah status in a 2005 interview with CBS, the BBC’s US partner. "None of the venues wanted [the UFC]," White explained. "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 sports arenas firmly shutting their doors to the fledgling organization, White has frequently credited Trump with saving the UFC from financial collapse. Trump stepped in by offering his Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a venue, successfully hosting two pivotal UFC events in 2001 that kept the organization afloat. Over the years, the partnership has only deepened; this summer, the UFC held an outdoor cage match directly on the White House lawn, highlighting the convergence of the sports empire and the political administration. Furthermore, White has served as a prominent featured speaker for Trump’s presidential campaigns, taking the stage at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
Despite the mutual loyalty between the two men, industry analysts and political observers remain deeply skeptical about whether White would realistically have the time or inclination to assume the duties of White House press secretary. The position is widely recognized as one of the most grueling, high-pressure, and time-consuming jobs in the entire political arena, requiring constant availability, intensive daily briefings, and navigating a hostile 24-hour news cycle.
Furthermore, White’s current professional portfolio is already exceptionally crowded with demanding, high-stakes commitments. In addition to leading the day-to-day operations of the multi-billion-dollar UFC empire, he oversees Power Slap, a regulated slap-fighting promotion league. He also recently launched Zuffa Boxing, a new professional boxing promotion company designed to shake up the combat sports landscape. Beyond his combat sports ventures, White’s corporate responsibilities expanded significantly last year when he was officially unveiled as one of three new board members of Meta, the tech conglomerate that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
As speculation continues to swirl across political and sports commentary platforms, neither the White House nor White has provided definitive clarification on whether the public job offer will materialize into an official appointment or remain a dramatic social media gesture.
