US President Donald Trump has walked back a surprising job offer to the UFC boss to take over as White House press secretary, declaring he was “kidding”.

“I will tell you, I was only kidding,” Trump said as he departed Florida on Sunday (US time).

“You wouldn’t mess around with him so much.”

Only a day earlier, Trump had used social media to plead with Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive Dana White to accept his extraordinary job offer – and White had confirmed he was on his way to Washington DC to discuss the role.

The White House press secretary role has sat vacant since October when Katie Zacharia was sacked after less than a week.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was pleased to announce “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” had been offered the position.

“Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!” Trump wrote.

He also named six mixed martial arts fighters who could serve as White’s assistants.

“I have requested that he bring with him assistants, even though some are not from our Country, of Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Kayla Harris,” he said.

“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left.”

The post sparked frenzied speculation on social media, with another Dana White — former chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White — saying she had received notes of congratulations.

“To everyone texting me congratulations: thank you, but you have the wrong Dana White,” she wrote on LinkedIn.

On Sunday, Trump said the “assistants” he named in Saturday’s post made it clear it was a joke.

“Some don’t come from our country,” he said. “They come from parts unknown.”

White is a long-time Trump ally, speaking in support of him on the campaign trail and at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

The pair have frequently been spotted sitting ringside at UFC events.

Trump said the whole episode was “an example of something where I was kidding”, but added some had suggested it was a good idea.

He said his meeting with White on Monday was for “other reasons.”

The episode came amid a shake-up in the Trump administration after heavy Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections.

Republicans lost control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as several key gubernatorial races.

Trump also ousted his White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replaced her with long-time aide Stephen Miller.

Also on Sunday, Trump spoke out publicly against two senior administration officials that some Democrats are threatening to impeach. He called Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Heath and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy jr “very fine people.”

Trump said Kennedy was “a very popular guy” and firmly backed Hegseth’s handling of the war with Iran.

“When you say about Pete Hegseth, I mean he’s guilty of two things: Basically winning two wars,” Trump said, referring to Iran and the US military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro.

The US House of Representatives will vote this week on impeaching Hegseth. He has vowed to fight those efforts, posting defiant videos on social media.