President Donald Trump has offered UFC president Dana White the White House press secretary position, following another abrupt communications shake-up. Trump announced the offer on Saturday, November 7, through Truth Social, praising White and urging him to accept the role.
The president also suggested White bring several current and former UFC champions as assistants, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. However, the announcement does not mean White has become press secretary; Reuters reported CNN sources say he declined the offer.
White has not publicly confirmed acceptance, although he shared an image of himself standing at the White House briefing lectern. The unusual proposal follows Karoline Leavitt’s departure, after she officially left the position at the end of August this year.
Leavitt announced her exit after explaining that balancing the demanding role with raising her two young children had become difficult. Trump praised her service and said she would continue publicly supporting him as an outside adviser and influential Republican voice.
Her departure created a vacancy that Trump later filled by appointing conservative commentator and communications adviser Katie Zacharia in October. Zacharia’s tenure, however, lasted less than a week, making her one of the shortest-serving press secretaries in recent American history.
Reports say she left after facing intense media scrutiny following her brief and widely discussed first White House press briefing. Trump later said he encouraged Zacharia to reconsider the position, defending her against criticism he described as unfair treatment publicly.
The succession of departures has drawn attention to instability surrounding the administration’s public communications operation across Washington in recent months. Dana White’s longstanding relationship with Trump dates back to the early 2000s, when the president’s casino hosted UFC events regularly.
White later became a prominent Trump supporter, publicly backing his 2016 presidential campaign and appearing alongside him at major events. Despite that close relationship, the press secretary offer remains unaccepted, leaving the White House communications position without a confirmed successor.
The latest development places fresh focus on Trump’s unconventional approach to staffing one of Washington’s most visible communications roles today.
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