Trump’s pick of Dana White as press secretary has given way to a wild mix-up theory

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. 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. “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. 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. 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. 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. UFC boss Dana White was offered the role of White House Press Secretary — but Internet sleuths seem to think the job was meant to be offered to a different Dana White (Reuters)“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. “Trump has instead announced ‘Dana White’ of the UFC as Press Secretary with our Dana having any 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?” 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. Writer Doug Farrar also speculated: “So, here’s what likely happened. Someone suggested Dana W. White (who is a Trumpublican) to him, and he got it wrong. That’s not the best part. The best part is that this happened on the anniversary of Four Seasons Total 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. I’ve stood at the podium and taken questions from the Pentagon press corps. I have never stood in an octagon. I’d like to keep it that way,” she wrote on LinkedIn. Dana W. White acknowledged the theory in a LinkedIn post (U.S. Department of War)“It is nice for once that, that Dana White is being confused with this Dana White,” she added. The UFC boss also seemed to decline the job offer during a news conference in London on 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.” It was not immediately clear whether that Dana White would accept the role. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. White has no prior experience serving as a government spokesperson, though he has gotten into explosive exchanges with 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. 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. During his first term, Trump had four press secretaries: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany.