President Donald Trump opted to “have a little fun” Monday with an impromptu press briefing where questions for his latest “press secretary” included one about octogenarians in the octagon.
Following the departure of Karoline Leavitt and the brief tenure of Katie Zacharia, the White House vacancy for the role of press secretary became a source of levity as the chief executive insisted his latest proposal was in jest. Monday, the president followed the joke through to completion when he arrived at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room to introduce UFC President Dana White.
“I’ve always wanted to do this. Who has the first question?” began the businessman and friend of Trump, who added, “I have zero political aspirations.”
Press Secretary @danawhite’s first briefing 🤣 https://t.co/ycBrlqKqgX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 9, 2026
Of the questions directed at White, the first wondered about the outcome of a physical contest between Trump and former President Joe Biden. The guest speaker described the current leader of the free world as “The toughest, most resilient human being that I have ever met in my entire life. Many times during, you know, the last eight, ten years, whatever it’s been, I’ve told him, ‘Why do you keep doing this? Why are you doing this?’ when he was going through everything that he went through. And, as tough and resilient as I thought he was, after he got shot … yeah.”
“He is a one-of-one unique human being,” added the UFC head who, when pressed on if the fight would be a “knockout” for Trump, contended that for Biden, “It would be very bad. I think it would be very bad.”
After being asked about a pardon for late former MLB star Pete Rose, CNN’s chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins turned to the lingering question about the supposed offer to White. “Just to confirm, did you tell the president no to the press secretary job?”
To that, White responded, “I don’t tell the president no to anything. No, I didn’t say no. I literally — everybody, every media outlet was calling me, and I didn’t want to be disrespectful and say anything until he said something first.”
“We were having a very bad press day, and I said — I don’t know why, I thought of his name,” interjected Trump. “He’s been my friend for a long time. I said, you know, I think I’m gonna get Dana White to be my new press secretary. I said it to a group of the press, and that was it. I was sort of kidding, and then they wrote the story that I wasn’t kidding, and you were inundated, and I was inundated, and he was here anyway. We thought we would have a little fun and we brought Dana here. He would be fantastic.”
The White House X account furthered the president’s position that he was “only kidding” about the job offer with a post Monday evening captioned, “PATRIOT. FIGHTER. PRESS SECRETARY?”
PATRIOT. FIGHTER. PRESS SECRETARY? @DANAWHITE 🤣🥊 https://t.co/E5KJrSw1tu
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 9, 2026
Prior to stepping aside from the podium for White, the president touted his guest as “more than a fight promoter,” recognizing the success of the UFC as well as the manner in which the businessman deals with media.
“Even Karoline would admit that Dana is really very unique,” said Trump. “The only problem is he’ll talk for a little while, and then he’s gonna beat the hell out of you.”
Trump also drew attention to an upcoming fight at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and got White to admit that if the president had to face one of “the two greatest women fighters of all time, as far as I’m concerned,” as Trump put it, the result would “not be a good occurrence.”
Before concluding, White, who’d stepped to the side about halfway through the briefing, was asked by Trump if he’d take the role as press secretary, to which he reiterated having no interest in politics after thanking his friend for the offer. In response, the president expressed jovially, “I am devastated to hear this.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Trump brings UFC boss into White House briefing room to have a little fun with reporters - November 10, 2026
- DeSantis turns fire on conservative media after GOP losses: ‘A lot of that is a grift’ - November 9, 2026
- Florida Republican delivers post-election wake-up call to GOP: Stop mourning and start fighting - November 9, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.