Donald Trump has given a rare appearance in the White House briefing room, tag-teaming with his friend, UFC President Dana White, to defend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Iran war and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The president has faced growing scrutiny since Republicans lost control of Congress in a crushing midterm election defeat. To help take on the press during a blistering news cycle, Trump brought White into the briefing room after semi-jokingly offering him the vacant job of White House press secretary.

“I thought I’d bring Dane here because he loves the idea and I love the idea. The only thing is, we have other things we have to think about,” Trump told reporters Monday.

White was shocked when reporters actually started asking him questions.

It started with a softball when one reporter asked whether Trump or his Democratic rival, former President Joe Biden, would win in a UFC cage match. White replied with a compliant to Trump, calling him “the toughest, most resilient human being that I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

When asked whether White declined the press secretary job, the UFC chief said, “I don’t tell the president ‘no’ to anything.”

It remains unclear whether White will actually take on the role, which was once filled by Karoline Leavitt before she left at the end of August to spend more time with family. Katie Zacharia was chosen to replace Leavitt last month but only lasted five days on the job.

On Monday, Trump explained his decision to offer White a spot at the lectern: “We were having a very bad press day…I don’t know why; I thought of his name. He’s been my friend for a long time. I said, ‘You know, I think I’m going to get Dana White to be my new press secretary.’ I said it to a group of the press, and that was it. I was sort of kidding.”

This is a developing story…