Follow-Up: Dana White Tells White House Briefing Room He Has No Political Aspirations and Will Not Be Press Secretary

President Donald Trump surprised reporters at the White House on Monday, November 9, bringing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief executive Dana White to the briefing-room lectern during an impromptu press briefing in Washington. White told the assembled reporters on the spot that he has no political aspirations and will not become White House press secretary, settling in person a weekend of speculation about the vacancy.

According to Fox News and The Hill, White joked as he took the lectern that he had always wanted to do this, and asked, "Who has the first question?" He then said plainly: "I have zero political aspirations." White said he was at a Zuffa Boxing fight in London when Trump called to tell him about the post, that the last 24 hours of his life had been insane, and that every media outlet had been calling him. He said he had not wanted to say anything before Trump spoke first, so as not to be disrespectful.

Trump repeated at the briefing that his weekend post offering White the press secretary job had been a joke, saying the idea came to him because "we were having a very bad press day" and that he did not know why White's name came to mind. He also joked to the reporters in the room that White would give them a rough time.

Near the end of the briefing, Trump put what he called the big question to White directly: whether he would like to be press secretary of the United States of America. White thanked the president and reiterated that he does not want to be in politics. Asked about a pardon for baseball great Pete Rose, White said he never advises the president on anything, but that he thought a pardon would be fair.

Trump had offered White the job in a Truth Social post on Saturday, November 7, and clarified to reporters on Sunday, November 8, that he had only been kidding. CNN had earlier cited a single anonymous source saying White had declined; White's on-the-record remarks at the White House podium now supersede that anonymous account. The press secretary post has been vacant since October 16, when Katie Zacharia left after just five days in the job. As of publication, the White House had issued no formal announcement, and no official transcript page for the briefing appeared on whitehouse.gov. (Source: Dana White)

Related:

Follow-Up: Trump Says He Was Only Kidding About Offering Dana White the Press Secretary Job, Monday Meeting Is About Other Matters

Trump Offers Dana White the White House Press Secretary Job and Asks Him to Bring Fighters as Assistants

Source: Dana White

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：白宫北立面全景（北草坪正面）。照片：Aaron Zhu 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，Wikimedia Commons。The White House north facade from the North Lawn (photo by Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).

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