A joke or test? Why Trump floated UFC’s Dana White as his press secretary

For a brief period over the weekend, it looked like United States President Donald Trump had zeroed in on a new White House press secretary: Dana White. A stocky former fighter with a shaved head and a penchant for wearing black, White currently serves as the chief executive of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts company that counts Trump among its fans. But on Sunday night, after hours of speculation, Trump put an end to the rumours he himself started. “I was only kidding. But Dana loves the idea,” Trump said from an airport tarmac in West Palm Beach, Florida. “And there’s only one Dana. He’s great.” Just a day earlier, Trump had posted a message to his Truth Social platform, purporting to offer White the press secretary job. “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,” Trump wrote on Saturday. He proceeded to explain – in seemingly tongue-in-cheek style – that he had asked White to bring along fighters like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov as “assistants”. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other,” Trump continued in his post. “Dana, please take the job!” Trump has a history of unconventional picks for public office. The press secretary role remains vacant after Trump briefly appointed political commentator Katie Zacharia to the job in October. Critics questioned her legal credentials and her job performance. The scenario is “not as unusual as it might sound”, Alkhatib said, offering an example. “George W Bush wanted to elevate his personal lawyer and White House counsel, Harriet Miers, to the US Supreme Court, and she was definitely not qualified for the position.” White’s appointment, however, would likely have generated further controversy had Trump pursued it.