Sunday, November 8, 2026·Focal News

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Dana White to Meet Trump Monday on Surprise Offer to Be White House Press Secretary

UFC CEO Dana White says he will meet with President Trump on Monday after Trump publicly offered him the White House press secretary job, a move that comes amid a broader administration shake-up following midterm losses.

Dana White to Meet Trump Monday on Surprise Offer to Be White House Press Secretary

UFC President and CEO Dana White said Saturday he will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss Trump's surprise offer to make him the next White House press secretary.

Trump announced the offer earlier Saturday in a social media post while at his golf club in Florida, calling White "the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior" and urging him to take the job. "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!" Trump wrote, adding that he had asked White to bring along several UFC fighters as "assistants" to "defend us against the Lunatic Left."

White, who was in London for a boxing event, told reporters at a news conference that he planned to fly to Washington immediately and meet with Trump on Monday. Asked how he would balance the press secretary role with his existing positions in combat sports, White appeared puzzled before saying, "Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already." He declined to detail his conversations with Trump but said, "I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that."

Before the news conference, White shared an image of Trump's post on Instagram along with a photo of himself standing at the White House press briefing room podium, captioned "On to the next chapter." The White House and a UFC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

White did not explicitly say whether he is seriously considering the position. Elsewhere at the news conference, he discussed ambitions to expand Zuffa Boxing, the organization he runs with Saudi Arabian backers, and to hold more events worldwide.

The offer comes during a period of significant turnover in the Trump administration. On Friday, Trump announced he was replacing longtime adviser Susie Wiles, widely seen as a moderating influence, with aide Stephen Miller as chief of staff. Miller is known as the architect of the administration's hard-line immigration policies.

The staffing shake-up follows Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Democrats made historic gains, including in districts Republicans had held for decades, and won control of both chambers of Congress. The press secretary position had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August. Last week, Trump briefly installed Katie Zacharia in the role, but she appeared uncomfortable during her sole briefing and left after five days.

Trump and White are close friends, and the president has attended several UFC events with him since returning to office in January 2025. In June, Trump hosted a UFC event on the White House South Lawn to mark the nation's 250th anniversary and his 80th birthday, where a wire-mesh Octagon was erected beneath a large metal arch fitted with lights and screens. "It was an amazing experience, this was a one-of-one," White said afterward. White also spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

The prospect of a UFC executive becoming the nation's chief spokesperson raises questions about the blending of entertainment, sports and government messaging—and about the independence of the White House press operation at a time when the administration is facing a resurgent Democratic opposition.

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