'Please take the job': Trump asks UFC chief Dana White to be White House press secretary
Why This Matters
Key context: <p>US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had asked mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to serve as White House press secretary and called on him to bring some fighters along as assistants “even though some are not from our country.”</p> <p>White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a “violent Fighter and Warrior,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/rapidresponse47/status/2119138238380085468?s=46&t=uC6BLUlUpHpOAa7wB3MX3Q'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/rapidresponse47/status/2119138238380085468?s=46&t=uC6BLUlUpHpOAa7wB3MX3Q"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>Trump asked for six current or former <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-hosts-white-house-cage-fights-amid-war-political-scrutiny-2026-06-14/"><u>UFC</u></a> titleholders to join White, including two athletes from Russia’s Dagestan region, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov; Americans Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and “Kayla Harris,” likely a reference to Kayla Harrison; and Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian native who became an American citizen last year.</p> <p>“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote. White and UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, did not immediately return requests for comment.</p> <p>Last month, White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2037751">“let go”, </a>less than a week after she had taken on the role after Trump said he had told her to reconsider the job following public scrutiny.</p> <p>“I told her: ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” Trump told reporters.</p> <p>Zacharia had acknowledged that she had failed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practising law in the United States. She had earlier described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had asked mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to serve as White House press secretary and called on him to bring some fighters along as assistants “even though some are not from our country.” White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a “violent Fighter and Warrior,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Trump asked for six current or former UFC titleholders to join White, including two athletes from Russia’s Dagestan region, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov; Americans Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and “Kayla Harris,” likely a reference to Kayla Harrison; and Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian native who became an American citizen last year. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote. White and UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, did not immediately return requests for comment. Last month, White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was “let go”, less than a week after she had taken on the role after Trump said he had told her to reconsider the job following public scrutiny. “I told her: ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’ There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” Trump told reporters. Zacharia had acknowledged that she had failed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practising law in the United States. She had earlier described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.
Curation & Context
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