WASHINGTON, Nov 7 - US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had asked mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to serve as White House press secretary and called on him to bring some fighters along as assistants "even though some are not from our country."

White, chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a "violent Fighter and Warrior," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Trump asked for six current or former UFC titleholders to join White, including two athletes from Russia's Dagestan region, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov; Americans Justin Gaethje, Daniel Cormier and "Kayla Harris," likely a reference to Kayla Harrison; and Amanda Nunes, a Brazilian native who became an American citizen last year.

"We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," Trump wrote. White and UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, did not immediately return requests for comment. REUTERS