Dana White to meet Trump Monday on press secretary offer
Seven Lights
Dana White said Saturday night he was flying to Washington and would meet President Trump on Monday, leaving unresolved whether the UFC chief executive will take the job of White House press secretary that Mr. Trump offered him in a social media post.
“I’m flying to Washington DC right now,” White told a news conference after a boxing match in London. “I’m going to meet with him, we have a meeting on Monday, so I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that.” He added that he “has a lot of jobs already.”
Earlier Saturday, CNN reported that White had declined the offer and that one aide to the president had described it as a joke. White then posted an image of himself in the White House briefing room to Instagram with the caption: “On to the next chapter.”
Mr. Trump announced Saturday that “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States.” He said he had also asked White to bring six UFC fighters to serve as press aides: Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, whose surname the president rendered as “Harris.” “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Dana, please take the job!”
The post carried seven images, including what appeared to be an AI-generated picture of White behind the presidential seal in the briefing room. Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are not American citizens; Nurmagomedov is reportedly close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Makhachev has spoken in defense of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel in Gaza. Mr. Trump acknowledged that two of the six are not Americans but did not mention either point.
White has built a fortune estimated at more than $600 million running the Ultimate Fighting Championship; the press secretary’s salary is $195,000 a year. He staged a cage-fighting event at the White House in June, billed as “UFC Freedom 250,” marking the nation’s 250th birthday and the president’s 80th.
It remained unclear whether the offer was an actual plan or a diversion from the midterm losses. The announcement followed Mr. Trump’s replacement of chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller this week. Monday’s meeting is expected to settle White’s answer.