The White House has been without a press secretary for more than three weeks, and on Saturday President Donald Trump went looking for one in an unexpected place: the Octagon. Trump said he has offered the job to UFC chief Dana White, his friend of a quarter-century, and asked him to bring a handful of famous fighters along as “assistants.” White did not say yes or no, but he did say he was flying to Washington “right now,” with a meeting with the president set for Monday. Here is what we know, what has been reported, and what happens next.
Quick answer: On Saturday, November 7, 2026, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that UFC CEO Dana White had been offered the job of White House press secretary. White has not accepted. He told reporters in London he was flying to Washington and would meet Trump on Monday, November 9. CNN, citing a source, reported that White is not taking the job, so his final answer is still unclear.
What happened: Trump’s Dana White press secretary offer
Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Saturday and repeated it to reporters at his Florida golf club, according to ESPN. In the post he described White as “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” and said he “has been offered the job of Press Secretary.”
The post went further than a normal job offer. Trump said he had “requested that he bring with him assistants, even though some are not from our Country,” and named several of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, including Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote, before signing off: “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”
How Dana White responded
White was in London on Saturday night for Zuffa Boxing 12, a boxing card run by the UFC’s sister promotion. At the post-fight press conference he was asked about the offer and kept his cards close. “I’m flying to Washington D.C. right now,” he said, according to Yahoo Sports, before joking: “I got a lot of jobs already.”
He confirmed a meeting with the president on Monday and said there would be more to talk about after that. White also shared Trump’s post on Instagram next to a photo of himself standing at the lectern in the White House briefing room, with the caption “On to the next chapter,” ESPN reported. That caption set off a wave of speculation, but it is not an acceptance.
Conflicting reports
Not every outlet is reading the situation the same way. CNN, citing a source, reported that White has declined the offer. The Wall Street Journal and others reported that he is still considering it and will discuss it with Trump in person. CBS Sports described a move to the White House as “unlikely.” Until White or the White House says otherwise, the only confirmed facts are the offer, the trip and the Monday meeting.
Dana White press secretary: key facts at a glance
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Offer made | Saturday, November 7, 2026, on Truth Social |
| Who | Dana White, president and CEO of the UFC |
| Job | White House press secretary (vacant since October 16) |
| White’s answer | None yet; meeting with Trump on Monday, November 9 |
| Reported outcome | CNN source says he will decline; other outlets say he is still considering it |
| Fighters Trump named as “assistants” | Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and others |
| White’s other roles | Face of Zuffa Boxing and Power Slap, both under TKO Group Holdings |
Why the job is open: three press secretaries in three months
The offer makes more sense once you look at how unsettled the White House podium has been this autumn.
- Karoline Leavitt, the youngest press secretary in history, held the job from the start of Trump’s second term in January 2025 until the end of August 2026. CBS Sports reported that she stepped down to focus on family.
- Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator who had worked in communications at Trump Media, was named on October 9. She held a single briefing that lasted about 14 minutes and took questions from three reporters. On October 16, less than a week into the job, she announced she was leaving, the shortest tenure on record for the role.
- Since then the post has been empty, which is unusual for a job that normally involves near-daily briefings.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | Karoline Leavitt becomes press secretary |
| End of August 2026 | Leavitt leaves the role |
| October 9, 2026 | Trump names Katie Zacharia |
| October 16, 2026 | Zacharia leaves after five days |
| November 7, 2026 | Trump offers the job to Dana White |
| November 9, 2026 | White due to meet Trump in Washington |
Why this is trending
“Dana white” was the top trending search in the United States on Sunday, with more than 500,000 searches on Google in under a day. A few things are driving that.
It is a genuine surprise. Press secretaries usually come from politics, campaigns or the media. White has spent the past 25 years running a fight promotion. The idea of a UFC boss behind the briefing room lectern, flanked by champion fighters, is the kind of story that reaches far beyond political news readers.
The timing is sensitive. The offer lands in a turbulent week for the administration. Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday’s midterms (see our midterm election results 2026 breakdown), and ESPN reported that Trump announced on Friday that Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff. A new press secretary would be the public voice of a White House facing a hostile Congress for the first time this term.
There is an online theory. A widely shared Daily Kos community post argued that Trump may have meant Dana W. White, a different person who served as chief Pentagon spokesperson under former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. That theory is speculation and is not supported by Trump’s post, which describes the UFC boss and names UFC fighters. White himself is treating the offer as aimed at him.
Who is Dana White?
White has been the public face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship since 2001, when his business partners bought the promotion through their company Zuffa. Under his leadership the UFC grew from a fringe sport into the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion. Today it sits inside TKO Group Holdings, and White also fronts the Zuffa Boxing and Power Slap brands.
His ties to Trump go back to the UFC’s early days, when White appeared at events held at Trump’s Atlantic City casinos. White spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and Trump has attended several UFC events since returning to office. In June 2026, the UFC held a fight card on the White House South Lawn to mark America’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday, an event White called “a one-of-one.”
White is a confident, combative speaker who is comfortable in front of cameras, which is presumably what appeals to Trump. But he has no government or communications experience, and running the UFC is a full-time job on its own.
What a press secretary actually does
The White House press secretary is the president’s main spokesperson. The job usually involves:
- Leading televised briefings in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, often several times a week.
- Answering questions on everything from foreign policy to the economy, often with only hours to prepare.
- Managing a large press office and coordinating messaging across federal agencies.
- Travelling with the president and dealing with the White House press corps every day.
It is a demanding, all-hours role. That is one reason analysts doubt that the CEO of a global sports business could take it on without stepping away from the UFC, at least temporarily. Neither White, the UFC nor TKO has said what would happen to his current roles if he accepted.
What happens next
All eyes are on Monday’s meeting. There are roughly three ways this can go:
- White declines, as CNN’s source suggests, possibly with a public statement that he is honoured but committed to the UFC. Trump would then need to name someone else.
- White accepts, which would raise immediate questions about his UFC and TKO roles and who would run the company day to day.
- A different arrangement, such as an informal or advisory role, which neither side has mentioned so far.
White said he expected to have more to talk about after the meeting, so an answer could come as soon as Monday afternoon US time. We will update this story when there is an official decision.
Frequently asked questions
Did Dana White accept the press secretary job?
Not as of Sunday, November 8. White said he was flying to Washington and would meet Trump on Monday. CNN reported, citing a source, that he will decline, while other outlets say he is still weighing it.
Why did Trump offer Dana White the job?
Trump did not give a detailed reason beyond praising White as a “Fighter and Warrior” and saying he and his fighter “assistants” would “defend us against the Lunatic Left.” The two have been close friends for more than two decades.
Who is the current White House press secretary?
Nobody. The role has been vacant since Katie Zacharia left on October 16, 2026, after five days. Before her, Karoline Leavitt held the job from January 2025 until the end of August 2026.
Would Dana White have to leave the UFC?
There has been no official word. The press secretary job is full-time and public-facing, so it would be hard to combine with running the UFC, but neither White nor TKO has commented on what would happen.
Did Trump mean a different Dana White?
Some social media users suggested he meant Dana W. White, a former Pentagon spokesperson. There is no evidence for this: Trump’s post refers to the UFC boss and names UFC fighters, and the UFC’s Dana White has responded as the person being offered the job.
Sources: ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, LiveNOW from FOX, Political Wire (citing The Wall Street Journal and New York Post), CNN, Daily Kos, Associated Press via KY3, Google Trends.
