President Donald Trump said Sunday, Nov. 8, that he was "only kidding" when he posted a day earlier that UFC chief executive Dana White had been offered the job of White House press secretary.
Why it matters: The White House still has no chief spokesperson. The post has been vacant since Oct. 16, after Katie Zacharia quit following less than a week in the job, Al Jazeera reported.
What Trump posted
On Saturday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that White "has been offered the job" and asked him to bring several mixed martial arts fighters along as "assistants." "We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," he wrote. "Dana, please take the job!" according to the BBC.
The walk-back
Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Trump said: "I will tell you, I was only kidding. But Dana loves the idea. And there's only one Dana. He's great." He called the offer "just a little fun" and said White would visit him Monday for "other reasons."
White said at a Saturday news conference that he has "a lot of jobs already" and was flying to Washington for a Monday meeting with Trump, without saying whether he would take the post.
Background
White runs the UFC, the slap-fighting league PowerSlap and Zuffa Boxing, and sits on the board of Meta, the Menlo Park parent of Facebook and Instagram. He spoke for Trump at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Republican conventions, and the UFC staged a card on the White House lawn in June. Karoline Leavitt held the press secretary job before Zacharia.
Related: Stephen Miller replaces Susie Wiles as chief of staff.