U.S. President Donald Trump clarified on Sunday that his offer for UFC CEO Dana White to serve as the White House press secretary was “only kidding,” expressing surprise at the intense reaction to his social media announcement. Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump insisted the proposal was intended as a joke and was never meant to be taken seriously, though he noted that White appeared enthusiastic about the concept.
The controversy began on Saturday when Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was “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.” In the post, Trump urged the UFC executive to “take the job,” describing him as a press secretary “like none other.”
Despite his claims of joking, Trump stated that White is expected to meet with him in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The president said the meeting was previously scheduled for unrelated matters and that White was already planning to be in the capital. “I was just a little fun,” Trump said, adding that he had included images of fighters in his original post to signal that the announcement was not serious.
“You would've thought that people would've said, 'He's having a good time.' I will tell you, I was only kidding, but Dana loves the idea. And there's only one Dana, he's great. ... So I was kidding, of course.”
White, who has maintained a close personal relationship with Trump for decades, reacted to the initial post by sharing an image of himself at the White House press briefing podium with the caption, “On to the next chapter.” Speaking to reporters in London on Saturday, White confirmed he was flying to Washington to meet with the president, though he noted he already has “a lot of jobs” and would have more to say after their Monday meeting.
The White House press secretary position has been vacant for just over two weeks following the resignation of Katie Zacharia, who served for only five days. Zacharia stepped down after facing scrutiny over her credentials and a brief initial press briefing. She had previously replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in August for maternity leave, during which time other administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, held press briefings.
<small>Source: Yahoo News — read the original story there.</small>
