“He’s Going To Beat The Hell Out Of You”: Trump Hands Dana White The Briefing Room Podium

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

WASHINGTON – UFC President and CEO Dana White took the podium in the White House press briefing room on Nov. 9 following President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that he was offering the UFC boss the position of White House press secretary.

“I have zero political aspirations,” White, a longtime friend of the president, said during the Nov. 9 briefing, adding that he waited to comment on the offer.

Dana White: I’ve always wanted to do this. Who has the first question? I have zero political aspirations. pic.twitter.com/tBVHVsUA0s

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 9, 2026

“I don’t tell the president ‘no’ to anything. … I didn’t want to be disrespectful and say anything until he said something first.”

Trump said he “was sort of kidding” when he posted the announcement on Truth Social on Nov. 7, which included requests to bring several fighters along as assistants to “defend us against the Lunatic Left.”

“Dana White could be our press secretary if he would only take the job,” Trump said, while introducing him on Nov. 9.

“The only problem is he’ll talk for a little while, and then he’s going to beat the hell out of you.”

Trump answered questions for about 30 minutes, telling reporters that he expects the war with Iran to end, before turning to White and asking whether he wanted the position.

“Thank you for the offer, sir,” White said. “No, I do not want to be in politics.”

Conservative political commentator Katie Zacharia served in the role for about five days in October and left the role after her first briefing, which lasted approximately 15 minutes.

Before Zacharia took the position, Karoline Leavitt served as the administration’s press secretary during the first 20 months of Trump’s second term.