Following a devastating defeat in the midterm elections, Donald Trump predictably sought a sensational distraction to divert public attention from his catastrophic losses. While some had speculated on more extreme scenarios—such as military action against Iran or the declaration of martial law—Trump instead opted for a bizarre tactical move: offering the position of press secretary to UFC CEO Dana White.
The move was widely viewed as absurd, with many suggesting that a confused Trump had conflated the UFC executive with a different Dana White, a former staffer at the Heritage Foundation. As the public reaction highlighted his lack of focus and reinforced the image of chaos that contributed to the Republican rout, Trump attempted to dismiss the offer as a joke. However, as a student of Roy Cohn—who preached the doctrine of never apologizing or admitting fault—Trump’s claims of a prank are unlikely to be genuine.
Whether he simply confused two professionals with the same name or was forced to backtrack, Trump’s bluster is finally losing its effectiveness. A significant portion of the electorate is no longer swayed by his rhetoric or his persona. With his press secretary office remaining vacant after Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure, Trump is likely to double down on his most aggressive instincts in the venues that garner the most attention.
Sports have long been one of those arenas. Whether the offer to Dana White was a joke or not, it follows a pattern of using athletics to dominate the news cycle. From his attacks on Colin Kaepernick and the NFL to his more recent conflicts with the NBA, MLB, and now the WNBA, Trump has consistently weaponized sports to fuel his culture wars.
Trump relied on sports giving him the real-man boost and muscularity he always craves, but this time the gambit failed
Trump has frequently leaned on the world of sports to project a persona of strength. This was evident in June when he hosted a UFC cage match on the White House South Lawn—an event marred by a fighter’s racial insults toward former first lady Michelle Obama. By aligning himself with high-profile Black athletes such as Mike Tyson and Herschel Walker, Trump has attempted to use the sporting world as a shield against accusations of racism.
In this instance, however, the attempt to project “muscularity” failed. The situation appeared desperate and confused, especially after the professional Dana White publicly stated she was not a candidate. Adhering to Cohn’s advice to always stay on the offensive, Trump told reporters that UFC’s White “loved the idea” and warned that he was not someone to “mess around with.”
Ultimately, these tactics failed to resonate. The prevailing story remains a weary American public rejecting him in regions where Republicans had held power for decades—and in Kansas, for nearly a century. The repudiation was so comprehensive that even his usual distractions, including the celebrity allure of sports, could no longer hide the decline of his political influence.
