President Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome while attending a recent UFC fight amid failed U.S. peace talks with Iran.
Trump, 79, attended UFC 327 on Saturday, April 11, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, alongside CEO Dana White, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. ambassador to India Sergio Gor, 90s rapper Vanilla Ice, podcaster Joe Rogan and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.
According to The New York Times, the president walked into the arena to “thunderous applause” as a song from rocker and outspoken MAGA fan Kid Rock played in the background.
Trump’s presence at the light heavyweight fight between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg came amid failed peace talks between the United States and Iran. While Trump attended the event, vice president JD Vance made a public appearance from Pakistan to announce that attempts at reaching a long-term agreement between the U.S. and Iran had failed after 21 hours of negotiations.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” Vance, 41, told reporters before leaving Islamabad. “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.”
Per The New York Times, it is unclear if the president was aware that peace talks had failed during his UFC appearance. Notably, however, Trump downplayed the importance of the negotiations — or their outcome — on his way to the bout.
“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump said. “And the reason is because we’ve won. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily.”
While Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have been quick to claim victory in the U.S. war against Iran in the wake of a two-week ceasefire agreement, the coveted Strait of Hormuz has remained closed, causing worldwide oil prices to skyrocket. The cost of U.S. crude oil has reportedly reached over $111 per barrel — the highest jump in six years — resulting in a $4.13 nationwide average price of gas, per AAA Fuel Prices.
Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked the president if he believes “the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections” during a Sunday, April 12, interview on Sunday Morning Futures.
“I hope so. I mean, I think so, it could be, it could be, or the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same,” Trump responded. “I think this won’t be that much longer. [Iran] is wiped out, Maria, they’re wiped out.”
