President Donald Trump has said he has offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the president and chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Reuters reported on Saturday 7 November that Mr Trump made the offer in a post on his Truth Social platform, calling the longtime fight promoter a "violent Fighter and Warrior".

"I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States," Mr Trump wrote, in a post accompanied by photographs of Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes. He added: "Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!"

Mr Trump also asked Mr White to bring a group of fighters with him as assistants, "even though some are not from our Country". The six names in the post were Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, who was named as "Kayla Harris" in Mr Trump's post. The group includes two athletes from Russia's Dagestan region, Americans, and Nunes, a Brazilian native who became a US citizen last year.

Mr White responded the same day. Speaking at a press conference in London after a boxing match on Saturday, he told reporters: "I'm flying to Washington, DC, right now." He said he would be meeting Mr Trump on Monday, but declined to give details. He also posted a photograph of himself standing behind the White House press podium on his Instagram Stories, captioned "On to the next chapter", and reposted Mr Trump's message.

Whether the offer is serious remains unclear. CNN reported that Mr White had turned the job down, citing a source familiar with the matter, and a White House source told the network that Mr Trump was joking about the offer. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from USA Today, and neither Mr Trump nor the White House has said whether the post was serious or a joke. Mr White has not publicly commented on the job beyond saying he will meet the president on Monday.

The press secretary role has been vacant since Katie Zacharia left the post last month after less than a week in the job, the shortest tenure in the role's history. Mr White is a longtime ally and supporter of Mr Trump, and the UFC chief has been a prominent figure at the president's events. The Monday meeting in Washington is now the next step, and it remains to be seen whether it produces a formal appointment or turns out to have been a public joke.