Donald Trump’s pick of Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White as his next White House press secretary raised eyebrows — and led to a wild theory that the president accidentally nominated the wrong Dana White.
asserted
president → raise → White
Trump, 80, offered the job of his chief spokesperson to his friend “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
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Trump → offer → Saturday
“Dana, please take the job!” Trump begged while sharing an AI-generated image of White, 57, standing behind the White House press podium as press secretary.
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Trump → take → secretary
After Trump’s public plea, Internet sleuths began to speculate that another Dana White may have appeared on a short life to fill the vacant role — since a woman named Dana W. White previously was the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, and would be a logical choice for the job.
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woman → begin → job
In addition to serving as the communications policy lead for the Department of Defense, Dana W. White previously worked for the Heritage Foundation, the far-right think tank.
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White → serve → Foundation
She has also been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a commentator on Fox News — making her seemingly a great fit for the role.
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her → make → role
“Apparently ‘Dana W. White’ who ran public affairs for Sec Def was recommended on a short list for Trump to put as Press Secretary,” journalist Adam Cochran wrote on X.
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Cochran → run → X.
“Trump has instead announced ‘Dana White’ of the UFC as Press Secretary with our Dana having any idea.
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Dana → announce → idea
Connor Ewing, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, questioned, “So what are the chances someone suggested this Dana White and Trump pulled a Four Seasons Total Landscaping?”
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White → question → Landscaping
Coincidentally, the alleged mix-up Saturday fell on the same day Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, accidentally held a press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — instead of the luxury hotel — but six years later.
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lawyer → allege → Landscaping
Writer Doug Farrar also speculated: “So, here’s what likely happened.
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what → speculate → ?
Someone suggested Dana W. White (who is a Trumpublican) to him, and he got it wrong.
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it → suggest → him
That’s not the best part.
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That → ’ → ?
The best part is that this happened on the anniversary of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.”
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this → happen → Landscaping
The theory began to spread online, and eventually made its way back to Dana W. White.
“To everyone texting me congratulations: thank you, but you have the wrong Dana White.
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you → begin → White
I’ve stood at the podium and taken questions from the Pentagon press corps.
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I → stand → corps
I have never stood in an octagon.
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I → stand → octagon
I’d like to keep it that way,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
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she → like → LinkedIn
“It is nice for once that, that Dana White is being confused with this Dana White,” she added.
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she → confuse → White
The UFC boss also seemed to decline the job offer during a news conference in London on Saturday.
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boss → seem → Saturday
While White said he planned to fly to Washington to meet with Trump at the White House, he also noted, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.
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I → say → jobs
It was not immediately clear whether that Dana White would accept the role.
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White → accept → role
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
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Independent → contact → comment
White has no prior experience serving as a government spokesperson, though he has gotten into explosive exchanges with reporters.
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he → have → reporters
The Trump administration has been without a press secretary since Katie Zacharia was fired last month, five days into the job, following a disastrous first press briefing.
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Zacharia → fire → briefing
Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who was Trump’s chief spokesperson for 19 months before leaving in August to spend more time with her two young children.
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who → replace → children
During his first term, Trump had four press secretaries: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany.
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Trump → have → secretaries