Trump says he was ‘only kidding’ about making UFC boss White House press secretary

Speaking to reporters in Florida on November 8, Trump walked back a social media post from the previous day in which he said he wanted White, a longtime friend, to take the job and bring several mixed martial arts fighters as his aides, The New York Times reported.

"I will tell you, I was only kidding," Trump said. "Dana loves the idea, and there's only one Dana."

"You wouldn't mess around with him," the president added.

In his original post, Trump suggested that White bring UFC fighters Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison to help protect him from what Trump called "crazy leftists."

White appeared to play along, posting an image of himself behind the White House press secretary's podium with the caption "Moving on to the next chapter."

Speaking at a post-fight news conference in London on November 7, White declined to discuss the job offer directly but confirmed that he had a meeting scheduled with Trump at the White House on November 9.

"We have a meeting on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that," White said.

Trump and White have been close allies for years. The president regularly attends UFC events, and White hosted a mixed martial arts event on the White House South Lawn in June to coincide with Trump's 80th birthday and Flag Day.

The unusual proposal comes as the White House has been without a press secretary since mid-October.

Katie Zacharia, who replaced Karoline Leavitt, was dismissed after just five days in the role. Leavitt had stepped down in August, shortly after returning from maternity leave, saying she wanted to spend more time with her young children.

Trump suggested that his joke had received an unexpectedly positive response.

"That was an example of something where I was kidding, and then people said, 'You know, that's actually a pretty good idea,'" he said.