BBC: ‘kidding’ after midterm loss; Interfax: fighters Makhachev and Nurmagomedov
Donald Trump said he was “only kidding” when he offered UFC boss Dana White the White House press secretary job. Western and Russian outlets agree on the core story, but Russian outlets stress the Russian fighters while the BBC adds the midterm-election context.
What Western media report
BBC World (West) reports that Trump told reporters on Sunday he was “only kidding” and that White “loves the idea”, and that White was visiting “for other reasons”. The BBC says the offer came after a heavy Republican midterm loss in which the party lost its majority in both houses of Congress. According to the BBC, the post has been vacant since October, when Katie Zacharia quit after less than five days, following Karoline Leavitt. It also lists White’s other roles (UFC, PowerSlap, Zuffa Boxing, Meta board seat) and quotes Trump on the “Lunatic Left”, but does not name the fighters.
What media from these countries report: Russia
Vedomosti (Russia), citing TASS, says Trump said “I was just kidding” and that White would visit the White House on 9 November to discuss other topics. It adds that CNN, citing a source, reported White turned the job down, and that Trump posted an AI-made video in the style of “Family Guy”. Lenta.ru (Russia), citing Reuters, highlights that Trump suggested White bring Russian fighters Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov as assistants, and quotes White’s reply “A new chapter begins”. Interfax (Russia) lists Trump’s full roster of fighters and says the post has been vacant for several months, with Leavitt leaving in August for family reasons and Zakharia lasting five days.
Differences
- Context: the BBC links the offer to the Republican midterm defeat; the Russian texts do not mention it.
- Focus: Lenta.ru, Interfax and Vedomosti emphasise the Russian fighters Makhachev and Nurmagomedov; the BBC does not name them.
- Timeline: the BBC says the post has been vacant since October; Interfax says for several months, with Leavitt leaving in August.
- Refusal: Vedomosti and Interfax (citing CNN) say White declined; the BBC does not mention this and says White would not say whether he would accept.
- Extra details: only Vedomosti covers the AI video and says Western media speculated about a mix-up with a Pentagon employee of the same name; the BBC does not mention this.
- Sourcing: Lenta.ru cites Reuters and Vedomosti cites TASS, while the BBC presents its own reporting.
Where they agree
- Trump told reporters on 8 or 9 November that he was “only kidding”.
- The offer was first posted on Truth Social on Saturday, 7 November.
- A meeting with White is set for Monday, which Trump says is for “other reasons”.
- All quote Trump on defending against the “Lunatic Left”.
Sources: read the originals
Non-Western media
- Vedomosti (Russia) Трамп заявил, что шутил о предложении главе UFC стать пресс-секретарем
- Lenta.ru (Russia) Трамп открестился от предложения главе UFC стать пресс-секретарем Белого дома
- Interfax (Russia) Трамп назвал шуткой предложение места пресс-секретаря Белого дома главе UFC
- Vedomosti (Russia) Трамп опубликовал ИИ-мультфильм с Уайтом в роли пресс-секретаря Белого дома
- Trump
- Dana White
- UFC
- White House
- press secretary
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