US President Donald Trump on Saturday offered Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White the position of White House press secretary, but the 57-year-old declined the proposal, according to a CNN report citing a source familiar with the matter.
The US president also suggested that White bring along six current and former UFC fighters as assistants, sharing their photographs in the post. Among those named were Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes. A White House aide also suggested that Trump was joking about the proposal. The White House press secretary position fell vacant after Karoline Leavitt left the administration in August. She has since joined Fox News as a contributor. The search for a new press secretary comes at a challenging time for the Trump administration, with Democrats having secured majorities in both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections and promising investigations into the administration. White House communications director Steven Cheung also appeared to endorse Trump’s proposal, reposting the president’s message with the caption: “Hell yeah! Do it, @DanaWhite! Miller, one of the president’s closest and most loyal allies, is known for shaping the administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
Leavitt, who held the post for around 18 months, said she wanted to spend more time with her young family.
White turned down the offer, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. White was in London for a boxing event when he was asked about Trump’s social media announcement at a news conference on Saturday. He said he planned to fly to Washington and meet the president on Monday, as per news agency AP. On Friday, Trump announced that longtime adviser Susie Wiles would be replaced as White House chief of staff by senior aide Stephen Miller.
