Trump says he wants UFC chief Dana White for White House press secretary
Summary
U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday in Washington that he had asked UFC chief Dana White to become White House press secretary and bring fighters as assistants. Trump named six current or former UFC titleholders, including Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes. White and UFC parent TKO Group Holdings did not immediately comment. The press secretary position has been vacant since Katie Zacharia left last month.
Key Facts
- Trump described White in a Truth Social post as a “violent Fighter and Warrior” and said the proposed assistants were needed to defend against the “Lunatic Left.”
- Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are from Russia’s Dagestan region, while Nunes is Brazilian-born and became a U.S. citizen last year.
- Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the press secretary role at the end of August; Zacharia’s tenure lasted less than a week.
- Trump and White first worked together in the early 2000s, when Trump’s Taj Mahal casino hosted UFC events, and White publicly backed Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with UFC president and CEO Dana White through the Cross Hall of the White House before attending the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, DC, June 14. AFP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had asked mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to serve as White House press secretary and called on him to bring some fighters along as assistants "even though some are not from our country."
White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a "violent Fighter and Warrior," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump also asked for six current or former UFC titleholders to join White, including two athletes from Russia's Dagestan region, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov; Americans Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and "Kayla Harris," likely a reference to Kayla Harrison; and Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian native who became a U.S. citizen last year.
"We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," Trump wrote. White and UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, did not immediately return requests for comment.
The White House press secretary role has been vacant since Katie Zacharia's tenure ended last month after less than a week. Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August.
White and Trump first worked together in the early 2000s, when Trump's Taj Mahal casino hosted some UFC events. But they have become closer allies since the UFC chief publicly backed Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.
Trump in recent years has attended several UFC events, and in June the White House hosted a night of UFC fights as part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
The White House press office already has a former UFC spokesperson in White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung, who worked for White's organization from 2013 to 2016.
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