Dana White declines Trump's press secretary offer after president admits he was 'sort of kidding'

Dana White turned down Donald Trump’s offer to become White House press secretary on Monday, telling the president directly at a press briefing, “I do not want to be in politics” — a moment that came after Trump admitted the original offer had been made largely in jest.

Trump had announced on Truth Social that he was offering White the role, suggesting the UFC CEO bring top fighters along as assistants. White, a long-standing ally of the president, initially declined to comment publicly out of respect, saying he did not want to respond before Trump had spoken first.

“I don’t tell the president no to anything,” White said at the briefing. “I didn’t say no. Literally every media outlet was calling me and I didn’t want to be disrespectful and say anything until he said something first.”

Trump subsequently clarified that the offer had not been entirely serious, explaining it arose from frustration during a difficult news cycle.

“We were having a very bad press day and I don’t know why, I thought of his name, he’s been a friend for a long time,” Trump said. “I said I think I’m going to get Dana White to be my new press secretary. I said it to a group of the press and that was it. I was sort of kidding. Then they wrote the stories as though I wasn’t kidding and then [Dana] was inundated and I was inundated.”

Despite the informal origins of the offer, Trump praised White’s potential for the role. “He would be fantastic,” the president said, adding that he was “devastated” by White’s refusal before closing the briefing.

Trump has been without a permanent press secretary since Karoline Leavitt resigned from the position in August. White’s appearance, while generating significant media attention, appears to have been more of a publicity moment than a genuine job negotiation.