Who Is Dana White? All About The UFC Chief Donald Trump Wants As White House Press Secretary

UFC CEO Dana White, offered the White House press secretary job.© Image via X/@bbcnews

Dana White has never held a government job. He has never stood at the White House podium either. Yet on Saturday, November 7, President Donald Trump publicly asked the 57-year-old UFC chief executive to become his next press secretary. In a Truth Social post, Trump called him a "violent Fighter and Warrior" and wrote, "Dana, please take the job!" White has not said whether he will accept. The post named no start date, and an offer is not an appointment.

Dana White's Background Before The UFC

White was born in Manchester, Connecticut, and spent his youth in Las Vegas and Maine. He dropped out of college twice. He laid asphalt, worked as a bouncer and carried bags as a hotel bellhop. He took up boxing at 17 and later opened a gym in Boston.

He moved back to Las Vegas in the early 1990s and began managing fighters, including Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. In 2001, his friends Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta bought the UFC for $2 million and made him president.

The early years were hard. By 2004, the Fertittas had put more than $40 million into the company with little to show for it. White helped create The Ultimate Fighter, a reality series the company paid for itself after TV networks refused. It is widely credited with saving the UFC.

A group led by WME-IMG bought the company in 2016 for about $4 billion. White now serves as chief executive under TKO Group. He also runs Power Slap and Zuffa Boxing, and he joined Meta's board in 2025.

White's family life has stayed fairly private. He met his wife, Anne Stella, in eighth grade, and they married in 1996. They have three children: sons Dana III and Aidan, and a daughter, Savannah.

The couple drew public attention after a New Year's Eve party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2022. A video showed them arguing, and Anne slapped White, who slapped her back. Both apologized and blamed alcohol. In January 2023, White spoke to TMZ. "There is never, ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman," he said.

Why Donald Trump Wants Dana White As Press Secretary

Trump gave one reason in his post. "We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!" He also suggested White bring fighters such as Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Amanda Nunes as assistants.

The two men have known each other for 25 years. White's first event as UFC president, UFC 30, took place at Trump's Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. White has often said Trump helped the UFC when other venues would not. He spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and introduced Trump at the 2024 event. In 2020, he gave $1 million to a super PAC backing Trump's reelection. In June 2026, they walked out together at a UFC card on the White House South Lawn.

The job is open for a practical reason. Karoline Leavitt left in August, and her successor, Katie Zacharia, lasted five days in October. Trump has said he is in no hurry to fill the seat.

The role would ask White to answer reporters every day. His career so far has been about selling fights.