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U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer of the White House press secretary job to UFC President and CEO Dana White has prompted online speculation that he may have confused the longtime fight promoter with Dana W. White, a former senior Pentagon public affairs official.
Trump announced the offer Saturday on Truth Social, describing the UFC executive as “a violent Fighter and Warrior” and saying he had been “offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States.”
Trump also said he had asked White to bring several assistants, naming fighters Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harris. He acknowledged that “some are not from our Country.”
The post clearly referred to the UFC executive, but some social media users later speculated that a recommendation involving another Dana White may have led to confusion.
Daily Kos suggested that people around Trump may instead have been referring to Dana W. White, who previously served as assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.
In that role, Dana W. White served as the principal communications adviser to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense and was the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson under Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Social media posts similarly claimed that Dana W. White may have appeared on a shortlist for the White House press secretary position and that Trump could have interpreted the recommendation as referring to the UFC executive.
The material provided did not establish that such a mix-up actually occurred.
CNN later reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that UFC chief Dana White had declined Trump’s offer.
White did not answer a question about the position during a news conference but said he planned to travel to Washington on Monday to meet Trump.
Trump’s announcement came as he continued searching for a new White House press secretary following Katie Zacharia’s departure.
Zacharia left the position last month after serving for only five days following former press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
White also hinted at a possible new role on social media shortly after Trump’s announcement, though he did not publicly say that he had accepted the position.
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