“Defend Us Against The Lunatic Left”: Trump Wants UFC’s Dana White As Press Secretary

President Trump said Saturday he has offered the White House press secretary job to UFC CEO Dana White, three weeks after his last pick was pushed out five days into the job.

“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 wrote on Truth Social, before naming the backup he wants White to bring along: “assistants, even though some are not from our Country, of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harris.”

“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” Trump added. “Dana, please take the job!”

Makhachev, a former UFC lightweight champion, and his longtime friend Nurmagomedov, who retired undefeated at 29-0 in 2020, are both from Dagestan in Russia. Nunes, who held two UFC belts at once, is Brazilian. Cormier, a former champion in two weight classes, and lightweight Gaethje round out the list along with “Kayla Harris,” presumably Kayla Harrison, the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist who made her UFC debut in 2024.

White, who has run the UFC for more than two decades, has been a Trump friend for just as long. He spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and in June staged the UFC Freedom 250 card on the White House South Lawn.

White answered on Instagram with a photo of himself in the Oval Office, captioned “On to the next chapter.” 

There has been no formal word that he’s taking the job.

Weeks after the 2024 election, White told The New Yorker he wanted nothing to do with politics and would never work on another presidential campaign. “I’m never f—ing doing this again,” he said.

The job has been open since mid-October, when Katie Zacharia was fired after five days and a single briefing. Zacharia, a commentator for Trump’s media company, had been tapped to replace Karoline Leavitt, and was quickly buried in questions over calling herself a lawyer without having passed the bar. Leavitt left at the end of August to spend more time with her young children.

Politico reported that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who hadn’t wanted Zacharia in the job, helped line up the Sean Hannity interview that sealed her fate, which one source called a “sanctioned hit.” The White House and Fox News both denied it.

Wiles herself is now out as chief of staff: Friday was her last day, and Stephen Miller takes over on Monday in the wake of Tuesday’s midterms.

If he says yes, White would be the seventh press secretary of Trump’s two terms, after Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, Kayleigh McEnany, Leavitt and Zacharia.