Trump's proposal to appoint the UFC head as White House press secretary called a joke

On November 7, Donald Trump publicly offered UFC head Dana White the job of leading the White House press office and bringing in fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. CNN reported a refusal, White announced a visit to Washington on November 9, and The Washington Post, citing a source in the administration, called the initiative a joke.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 8 November 2026 at 06:232 min read

The key facts

On November 7, Trump offered Dana White the post of White House press secretary on Truth Social and named fighters, including Russians Nurmagomedov and Makhachev, as assistants
CNN reported White's refusal, but he announced a meeting with Trump on November 9 in Washington
The Washington Post, citing an anonymous administration official, called the proposal a joke

A staffing initiative announced on social media

On November 7, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had offered his longtime friend — UFC head Dana White — the job of leading the White House press office. According to him, White should bring along assistants, 'even though some of them are not from the US': Trump named Russians Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, as well as Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison. In response, White posted a photo of himself at the White House podium with the caption 'Moving on to the next chapter.'

The refusal, the visit and the 'joke'

The reports then diverge. CNN, citing a source familiar with the situation, reported that White had turned down the offer. However, the UFC head then told journalists that he was heading to Washington, where he intended to meet with Trump on November 9; he promised to reveal the details of the appointment after the meeting. Finally, The Washington Post, citing an anonymous administration official, reported that the initiative was not a serious offer of appointment — it was a joke, even though Trump had publicly urged White to accept. Thus, at the time of publication there is no final decision: the position is officially unfilled, and the November 9 meeting has not yet taken place.

Why the position is open

The press secretary post became vacant after Katya Zaharia's departure, and outlets give different circumstances here. Gazeta.Ru writes that on October 9 Zaharia left the post due to moving to a new job, replacing Caroline Levitt, who had stepped down following the birth of her second child. Life.ru, for its part, reports that Zaharia spent only five days in the role: her debut briefing lasted about 14 minutes and sparked a wave of criticism. After that, Trump stated that he did not intend to rush the search for a new press secretary.