Dana White was standing at a post-fight microphone in London on Saturday night when he was asked whether he wanted to run the daily White House briefings. The UFC CEO did not say yes. He also did not say no.

“I’ve got a lot of jobs already,” he told reporters at the Zuffa Boxing 12 media availability, before adding that he has a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Monday and that “I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that.”

Hours earlier, the US president had made the offer public himself. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he was “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,” according to NBC News.

“Dana, please take the job!” Trump added.

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A decline, a joke, or both

CNN reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that White had turned the offer down. The same report quoted a White House aide saying Trump was joking.

The president’s communications director, Steven Cheung, muddied the picture by posting “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite!” on his own account.

White himself has not confirmed either version. His only posted reaction was an AI-generated image of himself behind the briefing room podium, captioned “On to the next chapter.”

The vacancy White was offered

The job has barely stayed filled this year. Katie Zacharia left the role after five days in October following a single, uncomfortable appearance in front of reporters. She had replaced Karoline Leavitt, who served from January and departed in August to focus on her family.

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The press secretary chair has been functionally empty since Zacharia walked out, and Trump has publicly floated several names before landing on White.

White’s actual day job

White has run the Ultimate Fighting Championship since 2001 and became its CEO in 2023, when the promotion was folded into TKO Group Holdings alongside WWE. He has been one of Trump’s most visible sports-world allies for more than a decade and has spoken at Republican events across three election cycles.

He is also pushing TKO deeper into boxing, which is why he was at the Zuffa Boxing 12 card in London in the first place. From there, he said, he was flying directly to Washington.

White is due at the White House on Monday. He has not publicly said whether he will take the job.

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