<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">On Saturday evening, as Vice President JD Vance took a podium in Pakistan and said no deal had been reached to end the war in Iran, President Trump was in Miami watching a mixed martial arts fight.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Trump spent several hours orbited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio; a few of his children; some Ultimate Fighting Championship officials; Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India; the recording artist Vanilla Ice; Dan Bongino, the former deputy director of the F.B.I.; and the manosphere shepherd Joe Rogan.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">He was surrounded by people, but Mr. Trump was somehow an isolated figure. People mostly circulated around him, checking in with updates and then leaving again. For the most part, Mr. Trump sat and impassively watched blood and saliva sprayed out from the fighters beating each other silly in front of him.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">It was unclear whether the president knew that <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/11/world/iran-war-trump-talks-pakistan" title="">negotiations had failed</a> by the time he entered the arena for the U.F.C. event to a Kid Rock song and thunderous applause. He wasn’t tapping away on his phone — he left that to Mr. Rubio, who at one point leaned over to show the president his screen — and he didn’t betray disappointment or anger. He offered tight smiles for the cameras instead, and a thumbs-up for the winners.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In fact, on his way to Florida, Mr. Trump had told reporters that it did not matter to him if a deal with Iran was reached or not: “We win, regardless,” he said. “We’ve defeated them militarily.” Which sounded a lot like everything he had said before negotiations began.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The political reality facing Mr. Trump is grim, just as the economic reality facing Americans appears to be getting worse. Inflation is rising. Gas prices are eating into American paychecks, a direct result of a war Mr. Trump ordered. The president has responded to the pressure by attacking his critics and threatening his adversaries.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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