President Donald Trump offered the White House press secretary position to UFC CEO Dana White on Saturday. White has declined [1] the offer, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN.
Trump publicly announced the offer through a post on Truth Social. “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 posted Saturday.
The president also requested that White bring several “assistants” with him. Trump listed six UFC fighters for those roles and included photographs of the fighters alongside his announcement.
Trump framed the proposed team as protection against his political opponents. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” he wrote.
The president continued pressing White to accept the position. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!” Trump added.
WOW! DANA WHITE offered the role of WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY by President Trump
“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. I have requested that he bring with him 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. Dana, please take the job! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Cue the meltdowns.
The day after Stephen Miller is appointed COS! I did NOT see this coming!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 7, 2026 [2]
White House communications director Steven Cheung quickly amplified the proposal by reposting Trump’s message. Cheung added an enthusiastic appeal of his own, writing, “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite!”
Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite!
It’ll just be like old times!
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) November 7, 2026 [3]
Despite the public encouragement from Trump and Cheung, White ultimately turned down the job, according to CNN. The source familiar with the matter confirmed his decision to CNN after Trump made the offer public.
@espn Tell that to Dana White who is on his way to DC for a meeting with the President on Monday
— ALX (@alx) November 8, 2026 [4]
Dana White says he’s flying to Washington DC “right now” after President Trump offered him the White House press secretary role https://t.co/GGK3F2VUSr
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 7, 2026 [5]
JUST IN: Dana White drops this gem after President Trump offers him the job of White House press secretary
“On to the next chapter”
Make it happen, he’d have a blast with the fake news
Stephen Miller will likely keep slapping down the media himself in public as Chief of Staff!
TIME TO UNLEASH
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 7, 2026 [6]
White has spent years as one of Trump’s most visible allies. He spoke at the last three Republican National Conventions and helped the Republican Party reach young male voters who were important to Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump has previously credited White with connecting him to younger personalities and audiences. “He introduced me to people I never heard of, young kids,” Trump said of White earlier this year.
The president described being interviewed by people far younger than those he usually encountered. “I mean, I was being interviewed by 20-year-old kids,” Trump said.
Trump also recalled asking White where those young interviewers came from. “I’m saying, ‘Where the hell did you meet these people?’ They’re called influencers.”
However, young men began slipping away from Trump as he faced mounting criticism from some of the personalities who had helped introduce him to new audiences during 2024.
Trump continued attempting to appeal to those male voters this summer by hosting a UFC fight on the White House lawn. The event was part of the celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Those outreach efforts did not produce the desired political result in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Young male voters shifted toward Democrats, helping the party secure majorities in both chambers of Congress.
The offer to White emerged as Trump also signaled that additional staffing changes could be coming. On Friday, he ousted his longtime chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and selected Stephen Miller as her replacement.
Miller, described as one of Trump’s most hardline and loyal aides, is scheduled to assume the chief of staff role on Monday. White, meanwhile, will not be joining the White House as press secretary, according to CNN’s unverified reporting, despite Trump’s public request and Cheung’s enthusiastic support.
The White House press core ain’t ready for a press secretary like Dana White https://t.co/62RgtHIE4V
— Politi_Rican (@TheRicanMemes) November 7, 2026 [7]
White House Press Secretary Dana White would go so hard
Flashback to when a reporter suggested he should try to control what UFC Fighters say:
“You can’t control what people say. I don’t f*cking tell any other human being what to say or think. Free speech. People can say whatever they want and they can believe whatever they want”
https://t.co/5FJEMhaj6J— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 7, 2026 [8]