Trump teams with UFC’s Dana White in briefing room appearance to defend allies

White joins Trump at lectern

Trump made a rare appearance in the White House briefing room alongside his longtime friend Dana White, the UFC president. He said he had thought of White for the press secretary role after what he called a bad press day, but described the offer as partly a joke.

Asked whether he had turned down the job, White replied, “I don’t tell the president ‘no’ to anything.” Whether he will take the position remains unclear. Karoline Leavitt left the role at the end of August, and replacement Katie Zacharia held it for five days.

Trump says Iran war may end

Trump said the Iran war would be ending soon. He had earlier claimed the conflict helped drive up gas prices and contributed to a major Republican setback in the midterms.

Asked why he would not declare the war over, Trump said Iran remained “the bully of the Middle East a little bit” and argued that the United States should seek a long-term solution. He also said Iran had been prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he described as his main objective.

Hegseth receives Trump’s backing

Trump defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who criticizes the president, reintroduced articles of impeachment against him. Trump called Massie a “stone-cold loser.” Trump said Hegseth had “won the war in Iran,” while also saying he was still winning it. He did not declare the eight-month conflict over and claimed Iran wanted to make a deal and had been “obliterated.”