WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Saturday he offered UFC President and CEO Dana White the job of White House press secretary, but CNN reported White declined the offer, citing a source.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "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."
"We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," Trump wrote. "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!"
Earlier Saturday, White posted a photo of himself on Instagram Stories standing behind the press secretary's lectern in the White House, with the caption, "On to the next chapter." It was unclear whether White had accepted the position or was simply acknowledging the president's request as a joke.
Trump said the job offer to White extended to his assistants, "even though some are not from our Country." The assistants Trump named included current and former UFC mixed martial arts fighters from countries including Brazil and Russia.
Trump described the position as "Press Secretary of the United States," though the president's spokesperson is formally called the White House press secretary. Trump also recently floated Trump loyalist and rapper Nicki Minaj as a possible press secretary in an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson.
The offer to White follows a series of staffing changes in the administration. In October, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia left the position five days after beginning as Karoline Leavitt's replacement. Trump told reporters he suggested Zacharia quit after her first and only press briefing, during which she took questions from three conservative outlets in six minutes behind the lectern.
"I just spoke to her about it. I said, 'Katie, is this for you?'" Trump said outside the White House on Oct. 16.
On Friday, Trump announced that deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. The shake-up came three days after Democrats won a landslide victory in the midterm elections, gaining majority control of the House and Senate.
Trump and White have a longstanding friendship. During Trump's 2016 campaign, White praised the then-Republican nominee as a "fighter."
"Nobody took us seriously. Nobody. Except Donald Trump. Donald was the first guy to recognize the potential we saw in the UFC and encouraged us to build our business," White said.
For Trump's 80th birthday in June, the president hosted a UFC match, dubbed UFC Freedom 250, on the White House's South Lawn.
