‘Zero political aspirations’: Trump by his side, Dana White declines White House role

President Donald Trump gestures to Dana White, UFC president and CEO, as he speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo)

After days of public speculation about US President Donald Trump offering him White House press secretary role, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White declined it, saying he doesn’t “want to be in politics”.

“I have zero political aspirations,” White said during a briefing with Trump by his side. “For the last 24 hours, my life’s gone insane,” he said jokingly, reacting to the social media attention over Trump’s Truth Social post offering him the role.

🚨 BREAKING: Acting "White House Press Secretary" DANA WHITE just WALKED OUT in the briefing room with President Trump

The joke became reality!

WHITE: "I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this! WHO has the first question?!"

It ACTUALLY happened 🤣

And he’s already taking questions! https://t.co/KlHMIq6bXW

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 9, 2026

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His statement followed US President Donald Trump’s earlier clarification that he was “only kidding” after endorsing UFC CEO Dana White as a potential candidate for the high-profile White House post that remained vacant since Katie Zacharia’s dismissal in October.

What Trump said in his offer

Last Saturday, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had offered the White House press secretary’s role to his long-time ally Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). “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. Dana, please take the job!” he wrote.

What social media suggested

The announcement quickly gathered attention on social media, sparking jokes, as the netizens users assumed this to be a gaffe on Trump’s part, who, they said, might have confused the UFC president with his namesake Dana W. White, a former assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

How Dana White reacted

Playing along with the announcement, the UFC chief too went on to share a photo of himself standing behind a White House podium with the caption: “On to the next chapter”, as an Instagram story.

Later, during a press conference in London, White said he would meet Trump on Monday and declined to explain further details. “We have a meeting Monday, so I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that,” said White.

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The offer that wasn’t

After media users pointed out Trump might have confused his long-time friend for Dana W. White, Trump clarified his post later, saying he ‘was kidding’. “And you can see that because I put all of the great fighters as his assistants, that they’re all going to come to him. But it was just a little fun,” Trump added.