Donald Trump asks UFC boss Dana White to be new press secretary

{"text":[[{"start":8.48,"text":"Donald Trump has asked Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White to be his press secretary as the president attempts to re-energise his team in the wake of a drubbing for the Republican Party in this week’s midterm elections."}],[{"start":21.78,"text":"“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,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday."}],[{"start":34.2,"text":"The move to tap White comes in the wake of Tuesday’s sweeping electoral defeat in the US midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress in a stinging rebuke to the president."}],[{"start":45.74,"text":"The result has led to recriminations and finger-pointing among Republicans, with many — including vice-president JD Vance — blaming Trump’s war with Iran, which has triggered a surge in fuel prices this year that has squeezed many Americans."}],[{"start":59.92,"text":"Trump has sought to steady the ship in the wake of the defeat, appointing immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as chief of staff to replace Susie Wiles."}],[{"start":68.24,"text":"In his post on Saturday, Trump said he had requested White bring with him mixed martial arts fighters Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, “even though some are not from our Country”."}],[{"start":81.76,"text":"“We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump wrote. “Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”"}],[{"start":91.04,"text":"White and the UFC did not respond to requests for comment. But White told reporters at a boxing event in London that he would meet with Trump on Monday at the White House. He added that he “had a lot of jobs already”."}],[{"start":101.92,"text":"Earlier, White posted an image on his Instagram account of himself standing behind the White House press podium with the caption “on to the next chapter”."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":110.4,"text":"If he takes up the position, White would succeed former press secretary Katie Zacharia who was sacked by Trump after just five days on the job — the shortest tenure in US history. Zacharia had replaced Karoline Leavitt, who held the role for most of the first two years of president’s second term."}],[{"start":127,"text":"White has been a vocal supporter of the president since his emergence on to the political scene a decade ago. He has joined him on the campaign trail and spoken at many of his rallies and said he considers him a personal friend."}],[{"start":140.8,"text":"At the president’s post-inauguration victory rally last year, White was among Trump’s celebrity warm-up acts and described the president as “the best human being I’ve ever known”."}],[{"start":156.72,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794103064_4672.mp3"}