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Trump says 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO as White House press secretary

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Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, November 8). Trump says 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO as White House press secretary. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/trump-says-only-kidding-about-naming-ufc-ceo-as-white-house-press-secretary

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-11-09 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump clarified on Sunday that he was joking when he suggested naming Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as his next White House press secretary. The previous day's social media post had sparked speculation about a combative approach toward Democrats taking control of Congress. Trump told reporters the suggestion was not serious and described it as "just a little fun," adding that he would meet with White at the White House on Monday for other reasons.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 9, 2026, President Donald Trump clarified that his previous day's offer to appoint UFC CEO Dana White as the new White House press secretary was a joke. Initially, on Truth Social on November 7, Trump announced he had offered the job to White, calling him "the Great Dana White" and suggesting he bring fighters to the White House for assistance. CNN reported that White reportedly declined the position after meeting with Trump in Florida on Monday. However, Trump said he was only joking when questioned by reporters on his way back from a beach club near West Palm Beach, adding that White enjoyed the idea despite not accepting it seriously.

Written for “Trump Kidding About Dana White Press Secretary Offer” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 25 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

Trump Kidding About Dana White Press Secretary Offer
Politics · 26 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 40% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBC News
Hedges 2 of 5 claims Outlet record 60/100
South China Morning Post
Leans right Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 62/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Leans right Hedges 2 of 11 claims Outlet record 65/100
The Daily Wire
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 95/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 4 of 29 claims Outlet record 67/100
Fox News
Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 67/100
Toronto Sun
Hedges 3 of 10 claims Outlet record 95/100
Euronews
Leans right Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's mention of Dana White as potential White House press secretary, Article A describes Trump retracting the suggestion, while Article B reports on the initial announcement.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
5
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
40%
2 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
26
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4696 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
3122 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 3122 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Congress Democrats UFC WEST PALM BEACH White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 7× UFC ORG · 5× White PERSON · 5× White House ORG · 2× Congress ORG · 1× Dana White PERSON · 1× Democrats NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× WEST PALM BEACH GPE · 1× the Ultimate Fighting Championship ORG · 1×

Narrative

Trump said White, a prominent supporter, "loves the idea" of taking the job but insisted he had not been serious about the prospect, describing the suggestion as "just a little fun." "I will tell you, I was only kidding," Trump told reporters, explaining that he had posted photographs of prominent UFC fighters as potential assistants to White as part of the joke.
framing: mixed · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
WEST PALM BEACH, Nov 8 - President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was "only kidding" when he suggested UFC CEO Dana White could become his next White House press secretary, after a social media post a day earlier stirred speculation about recruiting his feisty ally and signaled a combative approach to dealing with Democrats as they prepare to take control of Congress.

Claims (5 extracted, 2 hedged)

Trump says 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO as White House press secretary asserted
Trump → kid → secretary
WEST PALM BEACH, Nov 8 - President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was "only kidding" when he suggested UFC CEO Dana White could become his next White House press secretary, after a social media post a day earlier stirred speculation about recruiting his feisty ally and signaled a combative approach to dealing with Democrats as they prepare to take control of Congress. uncertain
they → say → Congress
Trump said White, a prominent supporter, "loves the idea" of taking the job but insisted he had not been serious about the prospect, describing the suggestion as "just a little fun." "I will tell you, I was only kidding," Trump told reporters, explaining that he had posted photographs of prominent UFC fighters as potential assistants to White as part of the joke. asserted
he → say → joke
In Saturday's post, Trump described White as a "violent Fighter and Warrior" and suggested he bring several current or former UFC champions to serve as assistants, saying they were needed to "defend us against the Lunatic Left." Trump said White would visit him at the White House on Monday, but added that the meeting was planned for other reasons. White, who has led the Ultimate Fighting Championship for more than two decades, has been a close Trump ally and helped mobilize support for his 2024 presidential campaign. uncertain
who → describe → campaign
He has also appeared alongside Trump at several political events and helped bring UFC fights to the White House lawn this year. asserted
He → appear → lawn
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