President Donald Trump brought UFC CEO Dana White to the White House briefing room in an unexpected appearance.
The briefing began with White at the podium, explaining his presence after media reports suggested Trump had offered him the press secretary position.
“I have zero political aspirations,” White stated, clarifying that he was in London for a Zuffa boxing event when Trump called about the offer.
Trump later explained he had suggested White’s name during a “very bad day” and was joking. However, he added that White would be fantastic in the role.
The most memorable exchange came when a reporter posed an unusual question about a hypothetical UFC match. Asked to analyze a pound-for-pound cage match between Trump and former President Joe Biden at the same age and weight, White didn’t hesitate.
“He’s the toughest most resilient human being that I’ve ever met in my entire life,” White said of Trump. When pressed on the outcome, White predicted: “A knockout victory for President Trump. It would be very bad. Yeah, I think it would be very bad.
During the briefing Trump also took a moment to acknowledge the two women headlining the upcoming UFC event at Madison Square Garden, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunez.
Trump stated, “He’s [Dana] got a big match this weekend at Madison Square Garden with the two greatest women athletes of all time. As far as I’m concerned, women’s MMA, it’s not a nice thing, but they are very tough.”
The president then jokingly questioned how he would fare against either athlete, adding, “When I say no men in women’s sports, that’s great. I would not want to compete against it. However, I would not… how would I do against one of them? Would I do well? I don’t think so. This would not be a good occurrence.”
He also addressed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who faces investigation over an extramarital affair with a woman US intelligence suspects was a Chinese espionage agent.
Trump revealed he called Huang that day, asking directly: “Did you have any idea that she was a spy? He said I had no idea that she was a spy and I really believe him.”
Trump said that he’d support Jensen, saying, “I just know Jensen very well. I just think he’s a very honorable man. I feel very confident that he’ll be in good shape.”
