The key facts

  • Dana White stated: «I have zero political ambitions»
  • On November 7, Trump jokingly offered White the post of White House press secretary on Truth Social
  • Among the «assistants,» Trump named Makhachev, Nurmagomedov, Gaethje, Cormier, Nunes and Harrison

UFC chief's response

UFC president Dana White has said he has no plans to enter politics, responding to a joke by US President Donald Trump, who suggested he become press secretary of the American administration. «I have zero political ambitions,» White said at a press conference at the White House, a recording of which was published on the White House channel. According to him, after Trump's joke, the last 24 hours of his life turned into madness. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru.

What preceded it

On November 7, Trump wrote on his page on his social network Truth Social that he had offered the position of White House press secretary to UFC president Dana White, adding that he had asked him to bring along assistants, although some of them are not US citizens. Among them he named Russian fighter Islam Makhachev and former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, as well as American Justin Gaethje, former UFC champion Daniel Cormier, Brazilian fighter Amanda Nunes and UFC champion Kayla Harrison. The message was joking in nature; White had already responded to this offer earlier.

Context

This concerns a public joke by the president, not an actual personnel decision: there is no confirmation in sources of an official appointment of White. Notably, Trump's list of «assistants» included Russian citizens — Makhachev and Nurmagomedov — while noting that some of those named are not from the US. Sources do not specify how the situation developed after White's statement.