PHOTO: REUTERS
Trump says he was joking about UFC’s Dana White as White House press secretary
· The Straits Times- Trump said he was “only kidding” about giving UFC chief Dana White the White House press secretary job, ending a day of confusion.
- White, a close friend, said he would fly to Washington to meet Trump and added, “I’ve got a lot of jobs already.”
- The joke came as Trump signalled a tougher stance after Democrats won Congress, and he also named Stephen Miller as chief of staff.
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – US President Donald Trump said he was “only kidding” when he offered the job of White House press secretary to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief Dana White.
His comments to reporters in Florida before heading back to Washington resolved a 24-hour mystery over whether he was serious when he asked White in a social media post on Nov 7 to “please take the job”.
“I was only kidding,” he said on Nov 8. “But it was an example of something where I was kidding and then people said, you know, that’s actually a pretty good idea.”
He has been signalling that he plans to stand up to the Democrats after the party won control of both chambers of Congress last week, notably by tapping Stephen Miller – the main architect of his hardline immigration policies – as his new chief of staff.
Trump’s last press secretary, Katie Zacharia, held the job for five days before she was pushed out.
He said that White, a close friend, would be in Washington on Nov 9 “for other reasons” and would “come over and see me”.
In his social media post on White, Trump said he asked the “violent fighter and warrior” to bring “assistants”, and also attached the names and photographs of famous fighters.
Trump has previously joked about combat sports and the press corps.
White told reporters on Nov 7 after a boxing event in Britain he was flying to Washington, DC, to meet Trump on Nov 9.
“I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of jobs already.” BLOOMBERG