Dana White takes White House podium, turns down press secretary job

UFC CEO Dana White took questions from the White House press podium on Monday, November 9, and said he has no interest in politics. President Donald Trump brought him into the briefing room two days after offering him the press secretary job. At the end, White turned the job down to Trump's face.

What happened at the briefing

Trump walked into the briefing room unannounced and handed White the podium, Fox News reported. "I've always wanted to do this. Who has the first question?" White began, according to FOX45. He told the room, "I have zero political aspirations," and said "the last 24 hours of my life has been insane."

Trump said he floated White's name on "a very bad press day" and was "sort of kidding." Asked about a hypothetical Trump vs. Joe Biden fight, White called Trump "the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met." Would Trump knock Biden out? "It would be very bad," White said.

Earlier in the briefing, White said he hadn't turned Trump down over the weekend. "I didn't say no," he said, according to SB Nation. He explained that every outlet was calling him and he didn't want to be disrespectful by speaking before Trump did.

To close, Trump asked White whether he wanted the job "or do you just want to stay with this ridiculous UFC?" White's answer, as quoted by AFP:

"Thank you for the offer, sir -- for the offer, I have no, no -- I do not want to be in politics."

"I am devastated to hear this. Goodbye, everybody," Trump said, and walked out. His final answer was a no, as AFP, SB Nation and TMZ all reported. SB Nation noted the exchange was played for laughs.

How the weekend got here

On Saturday, November 7, Trump posted on Truth Social that "the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job," as NBC News reported. The post, as quoted by FOX45, asked White to bring Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison as his assistants.

White, who also runs Zuffa Boxing, was at a boxing event in London. He said there he was flying to Washington, according to CBS News. Shortly after Trump's post, he put what appeared to be an AI-generated image of himself at the lectern on Instagram, captioned "On to the next chapter."

That afternoon, CNN reported, citing an unnamed source, that White had already declined. CNN also quoted an unnamed aide who said Trump was joking.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters in Palm Beach he was "only kidding" and that White was visiting for other reasons. On Monday, leaving his hotel, White told TMZ he had no political aspirations. He said Trump hadn't asked him before posting, and that one reason for the trip was a one-of-one UFC Freedom 250 trading card he wanted Trump to sign.

Where things stand

White, 57, the UFC's CEO, is a longtime Trump friend, AFP noted. The two already staged a UFC card on the South Lawn together. At UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, Gaethje won the undisputed lightweight title when Ilia Topuria's corner stopped it after four rounds. Ciryl Gane stopped Alex Pereira in the second for the interim heavyweight belt.

We think White is staying put. The final no came as part of a bit, but "zero political aspirations" didn't, and Trump had already called the offer a joke.

The press secretary job stays open. Karoline Leavitt announced in August that she was leaving, and her replacement, Katie Zacharia, was out after five days on October 16. No successor has been named.