Dana White holds court at White House but tells Donald Trump: 'I do not want to be in politics'
Zuffa BoxingInsisting he has no interest in a political career, Zuffa Boxing head and UFC CEO Dana White nevertheless briefly held court alongside President Donald Trump during Monday’s session with the White House press corps.
“I’ve always wanted to do this: Who has the first question?” White said.
Trump clarified that his weekend Truth Social post floating the idea of hiring White as White House press secretary was “a joke,” made following a difficult week in which Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate to Democrats.
White, meanwhile, explained that his planned trip to Washington to discuss a trading card collection with Trump had suddenly attracted rather more attention than expected.
“My life has been insane,” White said.
Asked who would win a mythical pound-for-pound fight between Trump and former President Joe Biden, White picked Trump comfortably. Another question concerned whether the late baseball legend Pete Rose should be pardoned for tax violations, prompting Trump to intervene and say that he should.
“I can’t believe you actually have questions for me,” White cracked.
“I don’t advise the president on anything, anywhere,” he added.
White praised Trump as the most resilient person he knows and told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he hadn’t turned down the press secretary position.
“We were having a very bad press day, and I don’t know why, I thought of [White’s] name,” Trump said. “I was only kidding. They wrote it as if I wasn’t kidding. He would be wonderful [in the role].”
White famously built the once-struggling UFC alongside owner Lorenzo Fertitta, transforming a $2 million company on the brink of collapse at the turn of the century into a combat sports giant that was sold for $4 billion.
The UFC is now shown on Paramount+, as is White’s new Zuffa Boxing venture, which is 60 per cent owned by Saudi Arabian boxing financier Turki Alalshikh.
White has spoken in support of Trump at the past three Republican National Conventions and staged a UFC card on the White House lawn this summer.
During Monday’s session, Trump also addressed the Iran war, the stock market, his deportation policy, the possibility of impeachment and matters involving Nvidia president and CEO Jensen Huang.
The president then returned to the subject of White’s potential appointment, apparently half-jokingly asking whether he wanted to take over as press secretary “or do you just want to stay with this ridiculous UFC?”
“Thank you for the offer, Sir. I do not want to be in politics,” White replied.
“I am devastated,” Trump said, bringing the session to a close.
White will next oversee a Zuffa Boxing card in Saudi Arabia headlined by WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames. He will also see former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia face ex-heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on the December 11 card topped by Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in Cardiff, Wales.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
