Trump makes Dana White U-turn as he announces Iran War close to end and Russia-China meeting on cards

Trump makes Dana White U-turn as he announces Iran War close to end and Russia-China meeting on cards The President has given one of his first interviews since the Republicans' devastating midterms losses, talking Iran, Dana White, JD Vance, and a Russia-China meeting Donald Trump has performed a dramatic U-turn by claiming he was “only kidding” about hiring UFC president Dana White as the White House Press Secretary. The President made his comments in a wide-ranging interview where he also revealed he is organising “de-nuclearisation” talks with Russia and China next week. Trump also addressed his relationship with Vice-President JD Vance, who said the Iran War was to blame for the Republicans’ disastrous midterm election results. Trump rebuked Vance, saying “a lot of people did not like his comments”. Trump’s interview, held on the tarmac before he jetted off from the airport near Mar-A-Lago that bears his name in West Palm Beach, was also notable for his attire. The President was not wearing his usual bright red ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball cap. Instead, he is sporting cream and gold headwear with USA emblazoned front and centre. A gold US flag was visible on the side. It appears to be similar to other hats Trump has worn in his second Presidency, but some have noted the fact he did not promote the MAGA brand in the wake of the Republicans’ heavy midterm election losses. The interview was one of his first since the devastating defeat — and this is what Trump said. “I was only kidding about Dana” Following the midterms, Trump has reorganised his top team, bringing in ICE supremo Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff. Trump still needs to fill the vacant press secretary job since Katie Zacharia’s an ill-fated stint in the role last month. She quit after only five days in the job, holding just one short press conference, making Zacharia’s tenure the shortest in history. Trump identified his chosen candidate over the weekend — UFC President Dana White. In a post on Truth Social, the US President said: “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.” However, in Sunday evening’s interview, Trump said he wasn’t serious about the appointment. He added: “I will tell you I was only kidding but Dana loves the idea. There’s only one Dana. He is great. “You would not mess around with him so much. I was kidding of course, when you look at the fighters I put on I said some do not come from our country, they come from parts unknown. I was kidding but I think Dana likes the idea.” In his original social media statement, Trump suggested White could be helped by several UFC fighters to “defend us against the lunatic left” before adding “Dana, please take the job!” “People did not like JD Vance’s comments” Figures on the right of the Republican party — often called MAGA — have said a reshuffle will not do enough to win voters back in 2028’s Presidential election after the Democrats claimed several stunning wins in very traditionally conservative areas, including southern states like Texas and Georgia. Those victories mean the Democrats now control both houses of Congress, and several high-profile governorships. MAGA has hit out at Trump’s decision to launch military action in Iran after he pledged ‘no more wars’ in the 2024 campaign. They include Vice-President JD Vance, who said "the reason we lost is the war". While Trump has accepted the war is partly to blame for his party’s electoral catastrophe, he appeared to hit back at Vance’s claim. He told reporters: “A lot of people did not like his comments. He should have made one other statement which I think is very important — ‘if you had to do it again, the answer is yes’. “I can tell you if you had to do it again, for history will go down as one of the biggest things we ever did. If they ever had a nuclear weapon they would blow up the world. You know why? Because they are crazy.” The President insisted his relationship with Vance has not been affected by the difference in opinion. "I am going to China next week" However Trump appears to have heard the message from voters, telling reporters the US is close to ending the war in Iran soon. The conflict is unpopular in America as it has driven up the cost of living. He claimed American forces “are doing well” and said the end is in sight due to blockades on Iranian imports. He said: “We are choking it off. We have Operation Iron Gate just went into effect. That means nothing comes in by land and as you know with the naval blockade nothing comes in by water so we have it very well blocked off.” International relations have dominated Trump’s second term, and looks like it will continue to do so as the President also said he will have a three-way meeting with Russia and China next week. He added: “I am going to be going to China next week. One of the meetings will be with President Putin and President Xi and that will be interesting. We will talk about a lot of things, including de-nuclearisation.” He has previously talked up similar moves, but China rejected the offer only last month, claiming “it is neither fair, reasonable nor realistic to ask China to join the so-called trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage”.