Donald Trump offers UFC chief Dana White press secretary job in bizarre replacement for fired Katie Zacharia

President Donald Trump has offered the role of press secretary to UFC supremo Dana White in a bizarre turn of events in Washington.

Trump called White a ‘violent fighter and warrior’ who he wants to be at the helm of his press briefings following the turmoil of the midterms and Democratic ‘bluenami.’ 

In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote: ‘I am 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. 

‘I have requested that he bring with him assistants, even though some are not from our Country, of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harris[son]. 

‘We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!.’

It is unclear if White – who has been a staple figure in the MAGA world since Trump’s first administration – will take up the role offered by the president. 

Trump is currently without a press secretary after he ousted Katie Zacharia last month, who was in the coveted White House position for just under a week. 

After a disastrous first press conference and another train wreck interview, Trump made the decision to remove MAGA diehard Zacharia from the post back in October. 

‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,’ Trump said he told Zacharia. ‘Honestly if I were you I’d reconsider.’ 

Her tenure was shorter than Anthony Scaramucci’s famously brief 11 days as White House communications director in 2017. She previously only lasted six weeks as a communications adviser at Homeland Security earlier this year. 

Zacharia was made press secretary after Karoline Leavitt announced her resignation in August, after serving in the role since the beginning of Trump’s second administration.

Leavitt, known for her sharp tongue and quick answers to the fiery White House press corps, stepped down to focus on being a mother after welcoming her daughter to the world earlier this year.  

White, who is worth a reported $500 million, is close friends with Trump and held his UFC 250 event at the White House earlier this year.

The controversial job offer was also extended to various UFC fighters, including Russians Makhachev and Nurmagomedov.

White and Trump have been allies for years with the first UFC event under his leadership taking place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in 2001 – an event Trump described as ‘the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen’. 

Trump later asked White to speak at the Republican National Convention in 2016, where he eventually won the presidential nomination for the first time. Despite pleas from his inner circle to reject it, White took to the stage. 

When Trump ran for president in 2016, White was one of the loudest voices in his corner.

‘Everybody said, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it”,’ White told TIME earlier this year. 

‘It was about more than “You don’t want to get into politics.” The bigger one was “He’s never gonna win.” And I was like, “Well, whether he wins or not, the guy’s been a good friend to me”.’

Trump was interviewed for the piece and commented: ‘He’s a very good speaker, very inspirational-type speaker. I know guys who are successful, they can’t speak.’ 

And after January 6, 2021, when corporations and celebrities distanced themselves from Trump en masse, White stood firm. 

He didn’t scrub Trump from the promotional material, but instead he walked Trump into arenas and made him visible at a moment when visibility was a statement.

White also played a huge role in helping Trump regain the White House in 2024. He reveals he had a ‘philosophy’ that if Trump ‘stayed on Fox News, he couldn’t win the election’.  

Instead, he gathered up podcasters and influencers to expose a new audience to the now-president that powered him back to the presidency.

Trump appeared on shows with the Nelk Boys, Will Compton and Taylor Lewan of ‘Bussin’ with the Boys’, Adin Ross, Theo Von and, most notably, Joe Rogan.

When asked how significant White was to Trump’s campaign to beat Kamala Harris, he replied: ‘Very important. He introduced me to people I never heard of, young kids.

‘I mean, I was being interviewed by 20-year-old kids. I’m saying, “Where the hell did you meet these people?” They’re called influencers.

‘But I did a lot. I became friendly with some of them. They’re nice kids, and they do have a big audience, and everything helps.’