Trump says he was 'kidding' about offering UFC chief Dana White the press secretary job
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President Donald Trump said he was "only kidding" when he announced he would offer the vacant White House press secretary role to UFC chief executive Dana White. He said he still expected to speak with Mr White on Monday.
US President Donald Trump has backtracked on his offer of the vacant White House press secretary role to Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, saying he was "only kidding". He made the comments to reporters in Florida before boarding Air Force One on Sunday evening, local time, repeating five times in the same address that he was kidding.
Mr Trump said he still expected to speak with Mr White on Monday and believed Mr White "loves the idea". In his Truth Social post on Saturday, he had described Mr White as "a violent Fighter and Warrior" and said he could appoint several well-known UFC stars as assistants. Mr Trump said the nature of the post showed it was a joke.
After the post, Mr White shared an image that appeared to show him at a lectern in the White House briefing room, captioned "On to the next chapter." The two have worked closely for more than 20 years.
Politico's Daniel Lippman told ABC NewsRadio before Mr Trump's comments that he did not believe the offer was genuine. He said Mr White would have to take a big pay cut and questioned whether he had the necessary political experience.
The press secretary job has been vacant for about a month, after Katie Zacharia left less than a week into the role. Mr Trump has not hinted at who might be offered it. The post followed his announcement that Stephen Miller would replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff, days after Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections.
