{
  "id": 19082836,
  "title": "Trump Admits He Was “Only Kidding” About UFC’s Dana White Becoming White House Press Secretary",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/trump-admits-he-was-only-kidding-about-ufcs-dana-white-becoming-white",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-09T03:58:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Deadline",
    "slug": "deadline",
    "url": "https://deadline.com/2026/11/dana-white-donald-trump-joke-1237217001/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he was only joking when he offered the position of White House press secretary to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief Dana White. Speaking to reporters on the tarmac of his airport in Florida, Trump said the offer was \"just a little fun\" and that he was \"only kidding\" after previously announcing the proposal on social media.\n\nThe New York Times reported that Trump noted White \"loves the idea\" of the role. The Guardian US added that Trump explained the premise of the joke was that if White, a devoted fan of the president, were flanked by six fighters in the briefing room, reporters \"wouldn’t mess around with him so much.\"\n\nThe press secretary position has been vacant since Katie Zacharia stepped down on October 16 after serving for less than a week, according to the New Straits Times. Trump and White are scheduled to meet on Monday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Could UFC boss Dana White be next White House press secretary?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/could-ufc-boss-dana-white-be-next-white-house-press-secretary",
        "published": "2026-11-08T11:57:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Trump insists he was 'only kidding' about wanting UFC's Dana White as press secretary",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/trump-insists-he-was-only-kidding-about-wanting-ufcs-dana-white-as",
        "published": "2026-11-08T23:56:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Bernama",
        "title": "World : Trump Says He Was Just Kidding About Making UFC's Dana White Press Secretary",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/world-trump-says-he-was-just-kidding-about-making-ufcs-dana-white",
        "published": "2026-11-09T01:13:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Trump says offer of press secretary role to UFC chief was a joke",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/trump-says-offer-of-press-secretary-role-to-ufc-chief-was-a-joke-19076805",
        "published": "2026-11-09T01:46:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Toronto Sun",
        "title": "Donald Trump says offer of press secretary role to UFC chief was a joke",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/donald-trump-says-offer-of-press-secretary-role-to-ufc-chief-was-a",
        "published": "2026-11-09T01:59:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}