US President Donald Trump said he has asked mixed martial arts executive and “violent fighter” Dana White to serve as White House press secretary.
“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,”Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“Dana, please take the job!” he said.
While Mr White did not explicitly accept the job, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss posted an image, possibly AI-generated, of himself behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room, captioned “On to the next chapter.”
The White House has been without a press secretary since 16 October when Katie Zacharia left the position after less than a week.
Katie Zacharia left the role after scrutiny over her credentials
Mr White, 57, is president and CEO of the UFC, the largest and most successful mixed martial arts organisation in the world.
Mr Trump also asked for six UFC fighters to join Mr White, including athletes from Russia’s Dagestan region, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Americans Justin Gaethje and Daniel Cormier, and “Kayla Harris”, likely a reference to Kayla Harrison.
He also mentioned Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian native who became a US citizen last year.
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Mr Trump wrote.
The White House amplified the announcement by publishing a screenshot of the president’s post on one of its official accounts.
The US president and Mr White are friends, and Mr Trump has often sought to associate his MAGA movement with the hugely popular UFC.
On Donald Trump’s 80th birthday in June, the UFC held an event on the White House South Lawn
The US leader has also attended bouts in Miami, New York and New Jersey since beginning his second term in the White House.
The White House press office already has a former UFC spokesperson in White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung, who worked for the UFC from 2013 to 2016.
When Mr Trump won re-election in 2024, Dana White appeared alongside him for his victory speech.
Mr White has also joined the board of directors of Meta, a move that some commentators viewed as a sign of the tech company’s conservative shift.