Dana White was seemingly on the cusp of becoming an integral part of Donald Trump’s administration after being touted for the role of White House press secretary. But, surprisingly, the entire proposition turned out to be an elaborate joke by the President of the United States. Following Trump’s eventual dismissal of the UFC CEO’s potential role at the White House, the revelation met with considerable backlash from fans.

“Well, if you look at, if you saw the assistance that I put… I posted the greatest wrestlers and greatest UFC fighters in the world,” Trump said in a recent media scrum in Florida on Sunday. “Like, Khabib… Justin Gaethje, who’s phenomenal, and you see a lot of rough faces there. And you would have thought that people would have said he’s having a good time… I would tell you, I was only kidding.

“But Dana loves the idea, and there is only one Dana. He is great… he wouldn’t be… You wouldn’t mess around with him so much.”

The POTUS’ statement clarified that Dana White’s potential job as press secretary was never a serious consideration. But despite Trump playing it off as a joke, it seemed like his proposal was pretty serious for a moment.

Following White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia’s departure on October 16, Donald Trump took to Truth Social on November 7, 2026, to name White as a candidate for the role. The POTUS’ close relationship with the UFC CEO and White’s support during his 2024 election campaign made the suggestion seem plausible.

He also described White as a “violent Fighter and Warrior.” 

On the Truth Social post, Trump further suggested that White bring along other UFC fighters, such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Daniel Cormier, Justin Gaethje, and others, to confront the political opposition, which the 80-year-old referred to as the “lunatic left.” 

Dana White further fueled the speculation by subsequently uploading a picture of himself standing behind the White House podium on Instagram, captioning it, “On to the next chapter.” However, confusion arose after CNN reported that White had declined the offer. 

Another conflicting development emerged when White told reporters on Saturday that he would meet the US President on Monday to discuss the potential White House role.

Nevertheless, Trump’s remarks suggested that the entire proposition was far from serious. The President’s decision to dismiss White’s potential White House appointment as a joke angered fans, who didn’t shy away from making their voices heard.

Fans react after Donald Trump admits his offer to make Dana White Press Secretary was a joke 

At first, some fans shared backlash on Donald Trump on X.

One angry fan chimed in, writing, “We’ve seen this before. If there’s much pushback, he was just ‘joking.’ It’s never funny. It’s dementia.”

Another user commented, “Dana is ruining the UFC, and Trump is ruining America. I think he’d be a great fit.” A third user labeled the situation a “Total embarrassment.”

Continuing the wave of backlash, another fan remained convinced that Donald Trump wasn’t actually kidding, writing, “He wasn’t kidding. He’s simply that m—ic.” Another user added, “These are NOT serious people to run the US, including the president himself.”

A different fan commented, “What Trump said: ‘I was only kidding.’ What Trump means: ‘Dana said no.’”

Donald Trump is yet to announce the identity of the new White House press secretary. However, some fans speculated that the President might have picked the wrong Dana White after all.

“He actually got the wrong Dana White. I’m dying,” one wrote.

The fan was referring to a woman who shares the same name as the UFC CEO, Dana W. White, who was reportedly shortlisted as one of the candidates for the White House press secretary role.

Apparently, Dana W. White worked for the Pentagon and was considered more deserving for the role than the UFC president. This led fans to believe that Trump had confused the two individuals.

A different user from Reddit also wrote, “He said ‘there’s only one dana’ and immediately the truth is known. They meant the woman, Dana W. White and he f—d it up.

Another fan believes that White would not be fit for the role because of his frequent interactions with the media: “I highly doubt that; Dana White is always telling journalists to shut the f–k up and watch the fights.”

The user recalled an incident when a reporter asked Dana White about the UFC’s production quality and use of AI at the UFC Seattle event. The question prompted the 57-year-old to respond, “Shut the f—k up and watch the fights.”

That said, it appears Dana White won’t be taking the position of White House press secretary and will instead focus on his combat sports business.