During an appearance on The New Yorker Radio Hour, UFC president Dana White reflected on his long-standing relationships with Donald Trump and Joe Rogan, explaining how he eventually helped bring the two together ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
White said his connection with Trump dates back to 2001, when the UFC was still struggling to find venues willing to host events. According to White, Trump stepped in during a difficult period for the promotion.
“Donald Trump owned the Atlantic City casinos at the time and he had us come to the Taj Mahal for UFC 30 and UFC 31,” White said.
White added that Trump attended both events personally and stayed for the entirety of the cards, something that stood out to him at the time.
“Every good thing that ever happened to me in my career after that, he was always the first guy to reach out and say, ‘Congratulations. I always knew this was going to be big,'” White said.
The UFC president also recalled the moment Trump asked him to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention. White said he agreed because he wanted to speak about Trump on a personal level rather than from a partisan perspective.
“I don’t ever say the left is wrong or the left is bad,” White explained. “I spoke about who he is as a person and as a friend and as a human being.”
Later in the conversation, White detailed his years-long effort to connect Trump with podcast host Joe Rogan, explaining that Rogan initially wanted to stay away from politics altogether.
“I tried to connect him and Trump for like probably 6 years,” White said. “Rogan didn’t wanna be political. He did not wanna get into politics.”
At the same time, White said he advised Trump to expand beyond conservative media appearances if he wanted to reach undecided voters.
“If you stay on Fox and only Fox, you’re going to lose,” White told him. “Because most of the people on Fox are already voting for you.”
According to White, the breakthrough finally came while he was flying to Mar-a-Lago on election night. He texted Rogan directly to ask whether he planned to vote for Trump.
“Are you voting for Trump?” White recalled asking.
Rogan answered yes, prompting White to push further.
“Then endorse. Why have you not endorsed him?” White replied.
According to White, Rogan’s response was simple: “I’m just busy.”
Not long afterward, Rogan publicly endorsed Trump. When the interviewer suggested White deserved credit for helping make it happen, the UFC president acknowledged he had been pushing for it for years.
“I had been working on him for a few years,” White said.
