{
  "id": 19052059,
  "title": "Trump pitches UFC chief White House press role, proposes Russian fighters as aides",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/trump-pitches-ufc-chief-white-house-press-role-proposes-russian",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-09T00:34:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/nation/trump-offers-ufc-chief-dana-white-press-secretary-job-suggests-russian-fighters-as-aides-50657310.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Donald Trump recently proposed the idea of hiring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White to serve as the White House press secretary. Trump also suggested recruiting a few high-profile mixed martial arts fighters to join White House staff, including Russian fighters Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, as well as Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes. The president expressed his hope that these individuals would aid his administration in combating what Trump referred to as the \"Lunatic Left.\" Makhachev, a former UFC lightweight champion, and Nurmagomedov, a current UFC welterweight champion, both hail from Dagestan, Russia, although neither has publicly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Katie Zacharia, the recently dismissed White House press secretary, reportedly faced a challenging debut marked by difficulty answering reporters' questions and clear articulation of a stance on Ukraine. Zacharia's brief tenure was widely criticized in U.S. media. On November 6, Trump announced that Susie Wiles was stepping down as White House chief of staff following his party's losses in the midterm elections, with Stephen Miller set to replace her.",
  "summary": "U.S. President Donald Trump said he had offered Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White the job of White House press secretary and asked him to recruit several prominent mixed martial arts fighters as aides, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Nov. 7.",
  "key_points": [
    "Trump proposes hiring UFC President Dana White as White House press secretary.",
    "Suggests recruiting Russian UFC fighters Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov as aides.",
    "Criticizes \"Lunatic Left\" and former press secretary Katie Zacharia's performance."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing combat sports personalities for communication roles signals a shift toward using aggressive, non-traditional figures to confront political opponents and navigate the administration's messaging challenges.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}