President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was joking when he claimed to have offered Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the job of White House press secretary. The clarification followed a weekend of confusion over whether the strange announcement was serious.

“I will tell you, I was only kidding,” Trump told reporters in Florida before returning to Washington. He added that “Dana loves the idea.”

Trump and White, a longtime friend and political ally of the president, are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday. White had already confirmed that he was traveling to Washington for a meeting with Trump.

The spectacle began Saturday with a Truth Social post that sounded like an official personnel announcement filtered through a professional wrestling script. Trump wrote, “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.”

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was serious. The White House did not publicly confirm that White had received an offer or would take over the position.

White responded on Instagram with what appeared to be an image generated by artificial intelligence showing him standing in front of the White House briefing room podium. The image read, “On to the next chapter.”

In a second Instagram story, White shared a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social announcement. His posts did little to settle the question of whether the supposed offer was real, a prank or another dose of Trump era political theater.

White addressed the situation after a Zuffa Boxing event in London late Saturday. Asked about the White House position, he replied, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.”

Trump also said he wanted White to bring several mixed martial artists into the administration as assistants, including two Russian nationals. “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left,” Trump said before urging White to “please take the job!”

The proposal seemed far fetched even by Trump’s standards, prompting widespread disbelief and skepticism. Yet if the announcement was intended as a prank, the White House did not initially disclose that little detail.

White is a multimillionaire and vocal Trump supporter, but he does not appear to have professional experience preparing him to serve as the White House’s chief public communicator. The press secretary position is often regarded as one of the most difficult jobs in politics.

Taking the federal position would also require White to leave the UFC, where his reported annual salary is $20 million. His relationship with Trump and his previous actions would likely face renewed attention as well.

White organized the first of its kind UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House in June to celebrate Trump’s 80th birthday. The event, which had an estimated cost of $60 million, faced intense ethics scrutiny.

The purported job offer quickly drew criticism from Trump’s political opponents. Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican member of Congress and frequent Trump critic, called the Trump White House a “joke.”

Melat Kiros, a Colorado Democrat who decisively won her House race on Tuesday night, said the episode “demonstrates how deeply unserious this man is.” Her criticism came after Trump’s party suffered major losses in the midterm elections.

Trump has refused to accept responsibility for those losses and has attempted to shift public attention toward his ballroom construction. As his lame duck period approaches, he has lashed out at Democrats, the media, Republicans and members of his own staff while searching for people to blame.

On Friday, Trump replaced chief of staff Susie Wiles with immigration hardliner Stephen Miller. The personnel change came amid his broader attacks following the election results.

Trump also published a series of Truth Social posts Saturday directing the Justice Department to investigate Democrats. He accused them of “threatening” Republican officials and donors with impeachment, imprisonment and “many other levels of punishment.”

He labeled the alleged conduct “Weaponization and Lawfare” and claimed, without evidence, that it might amount to a “criminal act.” By Sunday, however, the proposed Dana White appointment had been reduced to another Trump joke, even as the pair’s Monday White House meeting remained scheduled.