Trump surprises press with Dana White briefing, touts straight-shooting outsider for press secretary
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President Trump held an impromptu White House briefing with UFC CEO Dana White, praised his no-nonsense style, and briefly floated him for press secretary while discussing Pete Rose and a hypothetical match with former President Joe Biden.
President Trump convened an unannounced press briefing on Monday, bringing UFC chief Dana White into the White House press room for a lively and unscripted exchange. Trump said White had been floated as a possible press secretary and noted, "One thing about him, he doesn’t play games, because I’ve known him a long time."
White, who has organized a UFC event on the White House lawn, took the podium and made clear that he has no political aspirations. He also answered a question from Lindell TV correspondent Cara Castronuova about a hypothetical Octagon match with former President Joe Biden, saying such a scenario would be "very bad" for Biden.
When asked about a potential pardon for the late baseball player Pete Rose, White said, "I think it’s fair to pardon Pete Rose," and Trump agreed, adding that Rose had been "mistreated."
Trump explained that he had floated White for the press secretary position because of a difficult press day, saying, "I sent it to a group of the press, and that was it. I was sort of kidding, and then they wrote the stories as though I wasn’t kidding."
At the close of the briefing, Trump asked White directly if he would accept the role of press secretary of the United States of America. White declined, stating he does not want to be in politics, after which Trump said he was "devastated to hear this" and ended the session.