What was U.S. president Donald Trump thinking when he decided to put UFC CEO Dana White’s name forward as his potential new press secretary? The reason may be slightly less random (but no less silly) than you’d expect.
On Saturday (Nov. 7th, 2026), Trump took to social media to suggest White take the vacant role … we guess Nicki Minaj didn’t pan out? The whole thing came off as a joke to us — Trump also suggested White bring a number of UFC fighters with him as “assistants” to help “defend us against
the Lunatic Left.”
The post took off quickly and has made headlines everywhere, a nice distraction from all the negative press Trump has been getting since his party took a beating in the U.S. midterms last week. Maybe that’s why Dana White is now playing along and saying he’ll visit Trump on Monday to discuss the offer.
But what made Trump suggest White in the first place? According to reporters close to the White House, Trump’s post came after his former chief of staff Susie Wiles suggested another Dana White as press secretary: Dana W. White, a former chief spokesperson for the Pentagon. Trump subsequently yelled at Wiles, fired her, and replaced her with Stephen Miller. Then, rather than hiring Dana W. White, he posted about UFC’s Dana White.
Some outlets are suggesting Trump did this without knowing the difference between the two Whites, calling it a Four Seasons redux. What’s more likely is Trump saw Wiles’ Dana W. White suggestion, riffed on having his buddy Dana White in the role, and decided to make a funny post about it. Now that he’s riled up the press about it, he’s leaning in and will continue to stoke the drama for as long as everyone pays attention.
As for White, he gets to return to Washington at a time of massive turmoil for Trump’s presidency and show he’s still a loyal ally at a time when those are hard to come by. That shouldn’t be surprising to those in the sport: White was one of the few who didn’t turn his back on Trump after he lost the 2020 election. That support has paid off for UFC in a number of ways over the past few years. We’ll see if it continues to pay dividends as Trump’s popularity falters.
