The Aporia · Trump says he was 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO Dana White as White House press secretary amid hunt for Karoline Leavitt's replacement

Trump says he was 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO Dana White as White House press secretary amid hunt for Karoline Leavitt's replacement

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗

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Gordon, J. (2026, November 9). Trump says he was 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO Dana White as White House press secretary amid hunt for Karoline Leavitt's replacement. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16276963/Trump-kidding-naming-UFC-CEO-Dana-White-White-House-press-secretary.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

President Donald Trump clarified on Sunday that he was joking when he suggested Dana White, CEO of UFC, could be his next White House press secretary. This came after Trump posted photographs of prominent UFC fighters as potential assistants for White in a Saturday post, which some took seriously. Trump stated the suggestion was meant to be humorous and emphasized that while White is visiting him at the White House on Monday, it's for other purposes. Dana White has long been a close ally of Trump and helped support his 2024 presidential campaign efforts.

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 earlier offer of the White House Press Secretary position to Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was just a joke. Despite initial reports suggesting otherwise, Trump stated on social media and during a press conference that while White "loves the idea," the offer was never serious. The initial announcement stirred speculation about Trump's intentions as Democrats were set to take control of Congress soon. Earlier, on November 7, Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform offering the job to White, describing him as a "violent Fighter and Warrior" who would be a press secretary "like none other." However, by November 9, it was clear that the offer was not meant to be taken literally.

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

Why this leaning score

The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.30, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.

Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.

Leaning score withheld for article 137256: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-09

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Uncertain

29%

2 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

69/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

James Gordon

113 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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2026-11-09 · assertive framing · President Trump lays out what's to come for rest of his presidency while revealing he may be making 'a few changes' to his Cabinet

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2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Trump says 'a lot of people didn't like' Vance's criticism of Iran war after crushing midterm defeat... but challenges vice president to answer one question

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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.

2026-11-09 · mixed framing · Trump says he was 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO Dana White as White House press secretary amid hunt for Karoline Leavitt's replacement

Hartman now faces multiple surgeries and is not expected to return to the United States for at least two months.

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2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Boston Globe's snooty food critic ridiculed for pompous review of The Cheesecake Factory: 'It was wretched'

Stevens, who lost Michigan's Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, insisted her decision was 'rock solid' despite telling fellow Democrats just hours earlier that she would not support the Republican candidate.

2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Haley Stevens struggles to explain what sparked decision to support El-Sayed's opponent amid Democrat pile-on

Toronto police have been forced to explain why they allowed a suspected home invader to walk free from hospital despite knowing he may have been involved in a brutal attack on a millionaire CEO and his family.

2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Cops forced to explain why home invasion suspect walked free from hospital after allegedly terrorizing CEO and his family in their $2.1m mansion

Town officials warned in a Facebook post of potentially 'catastrophic flooding' as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 20 feet late on Sunday night. '

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Also by James Gordon

President Trump lays out what's to come for rest of his presidency while revealing he may be making 'a few changes' to his Cabinet

2026-11-09 · Daily Mail

Trump says 'a lot of people didn't like' Vance's criticism of Iran war after crushing midterm defeat... but challenges vice president to answer one question

2026-11-09 · Daily Mail

Antisemitic demonstrators calling for Jewish business boycott in Philadelphia clash with counter protesters on eve of Hitler's Kristallnacht anniversary

2026-11-09 · Daily Mail

Four Americans and a Canadian among 69 killed in Spanish train crash

2026-11-03 · Daily Mail

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 113 articles by James Gordon →

Narrative

Claims (7 extracted, 2 hedged)

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. uncertain

White → say → Sunday

On Saturday, Trump stirred speculation about recruiting his feisty ally and signaled a combative approach to dealing with Democrats as they prepare to take control of Congress. asserted

they → stir → 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. asserted

he → say → 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 → tell → 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.' 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. Trump said White would visit him at the White House on Monday, but added that the meeting was planned for other reasons. uncertain

meeting → describe → 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. asserted

who → lead → 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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Articles to 9 Nov 2026

Trump says he was 'only kidding' about naming UFC CEO Dana White as White House press secretary amid hunt for Karoline Leavitt's replacement

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