Dana White has stood beside Donald Trump through some of his biggest political moments, but joining his administration was never part of the plan. When Trump “jokingly” offered him the White House press secretary job, the UFC boss made his answer clear.

Speaking to reporters at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing of the White House on Monday, the POTUS invited the UFC CEO onto the podium to address the reporters and clarify his stance.

“I’ve always wanted to do this. Who has the first question?” Dana White joked as he took the podium. “I have zero political aspirations.

“I was at a fight for Zuffa Boxing in London when he called me and told me he had done this. And the last 24 hours of my life has been insane.”

The UFC CEO has thus turned down the job offer to become the next White House press secretary. At this point, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked White if he had turned down the offer from the president for good.

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

Here, Trump jumped in and clarified what he was talking about when he publicly offered Dana White the gig.

“We were having a very bad press day,” Trump added. “And I said, ‘I don’t know why, I thought of his name. He’s been my friend for a long time.’ I said, ‘You know, I think I’m going to get Dana White to be my new press secretary.’ They sent it to a group of the press, and that was it.

“I’m sort of kidding. And then they wrote the story as though I wasn’t kidding, and you were inundated, and I was inundating, and he was here anyway. We thought we’d have a little fun, and we brought Dana here.”

So while the job offer wasn’t real, according to Trump, he still wanted White to come out and turn it down publicly. This begs the question: if the offer wasn’t real, why was there a reason for the meeting at the White House?

Regardless of the strangeness of the entire fiasco, the fact remains: Dana White has turned down the offer.

The exchange ended speculation surrounding White’s possible entry into Trump’s administration, although their friendship had raised questions.

The entire situation began on Saturday, when Trump, days after Katie Zacharia’s abrupt departure, announced the offer to White through his Truth Social account.

“I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States. Dana, please take the job!” Trump wrote.

Trump even suggested bringing 6 UFC fighters as assistants to help defend the administration against the left. However, Trump has since explained that the suggestion started during a difficult day with reporters. He said Dana White’s name suddenly came to mind because they had been friends for years. Trump admitted he was “sort of kidding,” but media reports quickly turned the suggestion into serious news.

With White already visiting Washington, both men decided to address the growing speculation together.

Dana White’s response carried additional weight because his relationship with Trump stretches back several years. He supported Trump’s presidential campaigns, spoke at Republican National Conventions, and helped connect him with younger audiences. Their friendship also extended into sports, with White helping organize the UFC event hosted at the White House as well as during the promotion’s early days when the UFC was finding it hard to find good arenas to host their events.

That connection made the press secretary proposal interesting, despite White’s earlier comments about avoiding politics.

However, his latest rejection was hardly the first time he has addressed such possibilities publicly.

After Trump’s 2024 election victory, White told Sports Business Journal he had no personal political aspirations. He also explained why entering government held little appeal despite his close friendship with the president.

“There is nothing dirtier than politics. It’s disgusting. It’s gross. I want nothing to do with it,” White said. His position remained unchanged in April 2025 during an appearance on Steph McMahon’s podcast.

When asked about running for president, White responded, “There’s no way in hell.”

He also said he was happy with his life and had no desire to enter politics. Interestingly, White briefly left the door open to future political involvement in June 2026. While discussing his friendship with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said, “Never say never.”

He praised Rubio personally but never announced plans to pursue any government position. That comment showed Dana White was not necessarily ruling out every form of political involvement.

Still, Monday’s exchange reinforced his long-standing distinction between supporting Trump and joining his administration. For now, White appears content running the UFC rather than answering questions from the White House podium.

Donald Trump’s Dana White press secretary offer brings back memories of the infamous Four Seasons blunder

President Donald Trump’s latest Dana White announcement has brought back memories of his infamous Four Seasons incident.

After Saturday’s offer to White, the announcement soon sparked another conversation after users discovered a different Dana White.

Dana W. White previously served as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Spencer T. Hakimian, founder of New York-based hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, joked, “I guarantee you 100%, somebody recommended her to Trump, and he mistook her for the UFC’s Dana White, and now we all are in this mess.”

Journalist V. Spehar also questioned how Trump might react upon discovering the supposed confusion. Although neither claim was confirmed, the jokes reminded people of another Trump-related incident from 2020.

On November 7, 2020, Trump’s campaign announced a press conference in Philadelphia during election uncertainty. Many expected the event at the Four Seasons hotel near Broad Street. Instead, reporters arrived outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a commercial landscaping and snow-removal business. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani addressed reporters there, with the company’s sign visible behind him. A nearby s-x shop and crematorium made the setting even more hilarious for a presidential campaign announcement.

The location quickly became a talking point, although nobody confirmed whether the venue selection involved confusion. The business owner, Marie Siravo, embraced the attention instead of avoiding the unexpected publicity.

She began selling merchandise featuring slogans like “Make America Rake Again” and “Lawn and Order.”

More than 35,000 shirts, sweaters, and face masks reportedly generated over $1.3 million. Notable customers included journalist Jake Tapper, actor Mike Myers, and actress Emma Watson.

Now, exactly six years later, Donald Trump’s latest announcement has revived those familiar memories. The connection comes from social media jokes about another possible mix-up involving the president. However, the 2026 story remains different because no evidence establishes that Trump confused the two individuals. For now, this remains just another one of the issues that are being talked about in regard to the Trump administration.