For a brief period over the weekend, it appeared as if President Donald Trump’s focus was on new White House press secretary Dana White.
Mr. White, a shaved, stocky former fighter who likes to wear black, is now chief executive of the mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which counts Mr. Trump among its fans.
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But on Sunday night, after hours of speculation, President Trump put an end to the rumor he started.
“I’m kidding, but Dana likes the idea,” Trump said from the airport tarmac in West Palm Beach, Florida. “And there’s only one Dana. He’s great.”
“I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent fighter and warrior, has been awarded the position of Press Secretary of the United States,” President Trump wrote on Saturday.
He went on to explain, in a seemingly tongue-in-cheek style, that he had asked White to bring in fighters like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov as “assistants.”
The post was accompanied by images of muscular fighters, some of them baring their teeth.
“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” Trump continued in his post.
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Trump has a history of unconventional public office selection. The press secretary position remains vacant after President Trump temporarily appointed political commentator Katey Zacharias in October.
Zakaria’s tenure lasted just five days, making him the shortest-serving White House press secretary in history.
Critics questioned her legal qualifications and work performance. At the inaugural press conference, she struggled to give opening remarks and the meeting ended within 15 minutes.
“Knowing President Trump as well as I do, I think he was partially serious,” Rob Arlette, a Republican strategist and former Trump Delaware campaign manager, told Al Jazeera.
“He and Dana White share a long-standing friendship and business relationship, dating back more than 25 years when President Trump supported the UFC by hosting events at his Atlantic City casino. Their mutual loyalty and trust remains strong.”
Arlette believes that Trump often puts ideas out in the open to gauge reaction before deciding on his next move.
Who is Dana White?
Born July 28, 1969 in Manchester, Conn., White is a former boxer who dropped out of college twice and turned his passion for martial arts into a billion-dollar company.
He is also one of Trump’s longtime political supporters. In December 2015, White endorsed the Republican leader’s presidential bid, even though Trump was considered a long-term candidate at the time.
“You’ll never hear me say anything negative about Donald Trump,” White told TMZ Sports. “Donald will get my vote.”
Trump then won his first public office in the 2016 presidential election.
But their careers have been intertwined for decades. White began his career running gyms in cities like Boston and Las Vegas, and eventually moved on to managing champion fighters like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
It was the 1990s, and the two were competitors in a new competitive circuit known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
This tournament was designed to bring together different martial arts such as jiu-jitsu and wrestling in one arena.
White would ultimately be credited with turning the sport into an international commercial success.
Businessmen Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta became president of the UFC in 2001 after purchasing the organization for $2 million.
“It was basically seen as a blood sport,” White said at the 2016 Republican National Convention, where he rallied on behalf of the Trump campaign. “State athletic commissions didn’t support us. Arenas around the world refused to host our events. No one took us seriously. No one but Donald Trump.”
During White’s first year in leadership with the UFC, Trump arranged for him to host a tournament at the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He did something similar the following year.
White believes this move helped the UFC gain mainstream acceptance.
“Donald was the first person to recognize the potential we saw in the UFC and encouraged us to build our business,” White said.
Since then, he has campaigned for Trump in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections and donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Trump campaign. In 2020, for example, White donated $1 million to the pro-Trump political action committee America First Action.
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Mr. Trump and Mr. White have maintained a close relationship since the Republican leader returned to office.
In June, President Trump hosted a UFC tournament on the White House lawn as part of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
And over the weekend, White confirmed that he plans to meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
“I’m flying to Washington, D.C.,” White said at a news conference. However, he seems to be negative about the possibility of joining the Trump administration.
“I’m already getting a lot of work,” he joked. Since 2023, White has served as the president and CEO of the UFC.
Mr. White has no previous government experience. But some experts say that might not be disqualifying under Trump’s leadership.
“Trump likes to think outside the box and do things first to stand out from others,” Ihsan al-Khatib, a lawyer and political science professor at Murray State University in Kentucky, told Al Jazeera.
“But this position requires a set of skills that Dana White doesn’t have,” Alkhatib added.
When President Trump first floated the idea of appointing White as press secretary, some critics questioned White’s decision-making ability, citing a lack of experience.
Still, Al-Khatib explained that other presidents have similarly faced backlash over their decisions to appoint unconventional candidates to public office.
The scenario is “not as unusual as it might sound”, Alkhatib said, offering an example. “George W. Bush tried to elevate his personal lawyer and White House counsel Harriet Meyers to the U.S. Supreme Court, but she was clearly not qualified for the job.”
But had President Trump pushed ahead with White’s appointment, it likely would have sparked more controversy.
White married Ann Stella in 1996, but in 2022, a video was posted on social media of White slapping Ann Stella during an argument at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico.
Mr. White later apologized for his actions. In a statement to the media at the time, he said: “There is no defense for this and no matter what, people should not defend me. All the criticism I have received this week is 100% justified.”
Trump had four White House press secretaries during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, but has had two so far in his second term: Caroline Leavitt and Zakaria.
The position has been vacant since October 16, and President Trump does not yet have a chief press secretary.
