The president of the United States, Donald Trump, claims to have offered the position of White House spokesman to the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Dana White. In a message on his social networks, the president wrote: "Dana will be a press officer like no other. Dana, please take the job!" Hours later, White rejected the offer, according to CNN.
The president's announcement seems to be part of a series of measures that anticipate a new phase of toughness in his politics, after the unmitigated electoral defeat of his party in the midterm elections. In another message, he declares that he has ordered the Department of Justice to examine alleged Democratic “threats” against Republican donors and representatives.
The UFC is the mixed martial arts competition in which Trump ordered a fight to be held on the grounds of the White House for his birthday last June.
The White House has been without a spokesperson for months, except for the brief five-day period last October when conservative commentator Katie Zacharia filled the position before being summarily fired. In May, the incumbent, Karoline Leavitt, went on maternity leave during which a replacement was not named. Instead, several Cabinet members took turns holding occasional press briefings in the iconic White House briefing room. Leavitt, 29, returned briefly, but in August announced his permanent departure to dedicate more time to his two children.
In his message on his social network, Truth Social, in which he describes White as a “violent fighter and warrior,” Trump points out that he has also requested the hiring of the athlete's assistants, “although some are not from our country.” “We need these people to defend us against the lunatic left,” says the president, who cites among those who want to hire the fighters Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harris.
The statement by the American president, who is this weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, comes a day after he announced the appointment of one of his most radical advisors, Stephen Miller, as chief of staff, a position with similarities to that of prime minister in European governments.
Miller, architect of Trump's harsh immigration policy, which includes mass deportations, replaces Susie Wiles, made a scapegoat for the resounding defeat of the Republican Party in last Tuesday's midterm elections. Although the recounts have not yet been completed in all constituencies, the Democrats will achieve a majority of at least 54 seats in the Senate, out of a total of 100 seats, and they will already exceed 250 seats in the House of Representatives, with 435 members.
The American president, who initially welcomed the news of the Republican catastrophe with indifference, has become increasingly angry as he has become aware of the dimensions of the defeat.
In the past, other American presidents who suffered severe electoral blows in the midterm elections chose to make an act of contrition, at least behind closed doors, and try to offer conciliatory measures to voters. But Miller's appointment and, if confirmed, White's, suggest that Trump has chosen the opposite strategy and will redouble his confrontation with Democratic rivals.
In a message prior to his announcement about White, also on social networks, the US president attacked the statements of Democratic leaders who anticipate extensive investigations into the rapid enrichment of the Trump family and the contracts signed by the Government. “This is extortion at the highest level, and he should be held accountable for it,” the president wrote.
"They are threatening our donors, who are some of the most respected people in the world, with jail and many other levels of punishment simply because they are Republicans or Republican sympathizers. This is turning the law into a weapon," the president continues in his long message. Trump demands prison against legislators who have begun sending letters requesting data for their investigations. “Republicans have to act quickly and smartly!” he adds. “By this declaration, I order the Department of Justice to immediately examine this criminal act,” he concludes.
