Trump and Rubio Attend UFC Miami as Iran Negotiations Collapse

Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio chose an unconventional venue for diplomacy on Saturday night, watching UFC fights in Miami as peace talks with Iran collapsed several thousand miles away in Pakistan.

The President arrived at the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm, accompanied by several family members including Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr., along with UFC chief Dana White, who has been one of the President's most vocal supporters since his first term. Rubio, whose presence alongside the President at a sporting event while negotiations faltered drew sharp criticism from members of Congress, was also in attendance.

House Democrats on the Foreign Affairs Committee did not hold back in their assessment, posting on social media that the Secretary of State had skipped crucial Iran negotiations in Pakistan, as had the Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, with no confirmed US ambassador currently in place. Tens of thousands of Americans are in harm's way. Gas prices are rising. This is not serious leadership. It's amateur hour.

The White House faces a delicate situation on multiple fronts, with the conflict with Iran proving increasingly unpopular with the American public according to recent polling, and the President's approval ratings showing signs of strain. Despite this, Trump received a warm reception from the crowd as he took his seat, exchanging handshakes and posing for photographs.

On the cage, Brazil's Paulo Costa defeated Azomet Murzakanov in the co-main event, walking over afterward to shake the President's hand. Trump was overheard telling Costa, "You're a beautiful guy. You could be a model, you look so good. You're too good looking to be a fighter, you are some fighter."

Josh Hokit and Curtis Blaydes later delivered one of the more brutal encounters of the evening, a fight that reportedly caught the President's full attention. White confirmed afterward that Hokit had been added to a fight card scheduled for the White House on June 14, the President's 80th birthday, an event being staged to mark the United States' 250th anniversary.

Vice President JD Vance, who was in Pakistan for the failed talks, said he had spoken with Trump half a dozen times during the proceedings. He cited Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions as the central sticking point in negotiations.

We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon, Vance told reporters. That is the core goal of the president of the United States, and that's what we've tried to achieve through these negotiations.