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President Donald Trump offered UFC president and CEO Dana White the job of press secretary on Saturday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “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.”
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”
Apparently in response to Trump’s post, White posted a picture of himself on Instagram stories standing behind the press secretary’s lectern in the White House, with the caption, “On to the next chapter.”
It was unclear whether White has accepted the position or is simply acknowledging the president’s request in jest.
Trump said that he was offering White the job of “Press Secretary of the United States,” but the president’s spokesperson is called the “White House press secretary.” Trump also recently speculated about considering Trump loyalist and rapper Nicki Minaj as White House press secretary, in an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson.
Trump said the job offer to White extended to his assistants, “even though some are not from our Country.” The so-called assistants Trump named included current and former UFC mixed martial arts fighters from countries such as Brazil and Russia.
In October, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia left the press secretary position, just five days after her stint as Karoline Leavitt’s replacement began.
The president told reporters he suggested Zacharia quit after her first and only press briefing, where, in her six minutes answering questions behind the lectern, she only took questions from three conservative outlets.
“I just spoke to her about it. I said, ‘Katie, is this for you?'” Trump said outside the White House on Oct. 16.
The president’s appeal to White follows Friday’s announcement that Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, would be promoted to chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.
Trump’s stunning shake-up comes just three days after Democrats won a landslide victory in the midterm elections, gaining majority control in the House and Senate.
The president and White have a longstanding friendship. During Trump’s first campaign in 2016, White praised the then-Republican nominee and called him a “fighter.”
“Nobody took us seriously. Nobody. Except Donald Trump. Donald was the first guy to recognize the potential we saw in the UFC and encouraged us to build our business,” White said.
And for his 80th birthday in June, President Trump hosted a UFC match — dubbed UFC Freedom 250 — on the White House’s South Lawn.
The White House and the UFC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Karoline Leavitt’s name.
