WASHINGTON — President Trump surprised reporters Monday with a last-minute press briefing featuring UFC CEO Dana White warning “he’s going to beat you up.”
Trump brought the cage fighting official into the briefing room after floating him over the weekend as his possible next White House press secretary.
“A lot of people think he’s going to be our new press secretary,” Trump said after appearing in the briefing room for the first time in months — with just two minutes’ notice. “One thing about him is he doesn’t play games, because I’ve known him for a long time.”
“I’ve always wanted to do this. Who has the first question?” White joked as he took the lectern, clarifying that he had no “political aspirations” and had no intention of becoming Trump’s spokesperson.
White is a close friend of Trump and directed the UFC fight on the White House lawn on Trump’s birthday in June.
White responded to a question from Lindell TV correspondent Cara Castronuova, a former boxer, about whether Trump would beat former President Joe Biden in an Octagon showdown, saying it “would be very bad” for Trump’s predecessor.
White called Trump “the toughest, most resilient human being” – marveling: “I can’t believe you actually have questions for me.” »
He then took another one from a reporter who asked whether Trump should pardon late Cincinnati Reds slugger Pete Rose, who died in 2024, from a 1990 tax evasion conviction.
“I think it’s right to pardon Pete Rose,” White said.
Trump agreed, saying, “I think Pete Rose was very mistreated. »
“He had 4,200 and some odd hits, way ahead of anyone else. A record can never be broken, and he was caught gambling. Now it’s legal, right?” » Trump said. “He lived through 40 years of hell.”
Trump then answered questions on a variety of other topics, including the war in Iran, the midterm elections, the impending vote to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegesth and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
Trump said he asked White to be press secretary because “we were having a really bad press day.”
“I sent it to a press group, and that’s it. I was sort of joking, and then they wrote the articles like I wasn’t joking, and you were inundated, and I was inundated,” Trump said.
“We thought we’d have a little fun and brought Dana here. He’d be fantastic.”
The briefing ended with Trump offering White the job.
“Let me ask you the big question, Dana: Would you like to be press secretary for the United States of America? said the president.
“Thank you for the offer, sir. I don’t want to get political,” White said.
“I’m devastated to hear this. Goodbye, everyone,” Trump said before leaving the stage.
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