Trump at war

Katie Rogers has an entertainingly wry piece [gift link] about Trump and Little Marco attending an UFC match while his Team of Cronies and Nepo Babies were thoroughly botching negotiations with Iran:

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.

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.

Let’s pause here to note that when Joe Rogan claims to be “politically homeless” he’s bullshitting you just like when he has RFK Jr. on to talk about vaccines. Like most wealthy Moron-Americans, he’s MAGA all the way and his tepid criticisms of the Iran War are not going to change that.

It was unclear whether the president knew that negotiations had failed 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.

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.

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.

There was a widespread outcry from Democrats and some of his longtime supporters over his threat to wipe out the entire civilization of Iran. Democrats in Congress, alarmed by Mr. Trump’s behavior, want to see him impeached and they are questioning his mental fitness for office. They want to see his physician give Mr. Trump a complete cognitive exam, and then they want to interview the physician.

All of that awaits Mr. Trump back in Washington. But on Saturday night, in his adopted home state, he spent his time in an arena where people treat him like one of the prize fighters when he walks into the room.

After a week spent largely out of sight but lashing out at his enemies on social media, Mr. Trump’s resurfacing at a match seemed designed to provide him with a soothing balm of male aggression, musky sweat, and cheering supporters — not unlike one of his political rallies, just with shirtless fighters.

Fundamentally, Trump likes being president, but wants the reality show version, not the one where he actually has to govern. The depressing thing is that he could have spent his life doing nothing going to various tacky events in Miami and New York and have people fawning over him had he not decided to go to war with American democracy instead. And he seems to be all too aware of this. But, hey, at least JD Vance spent part of the week undermining somebody else’s administration for a change.

As the night grew late on Saturday and the war once again seemed poised to spin out of Mr. Trump’s control, the vice president departed Pakistan without an agreement. The president stayed seated in Miami, his eyes trained on the men punching and kicking each other in a bloodstained cage.

Speaking of Moron-Americans, the less wealthy faction or marginal voters who voted for Trump because Gas Exponsive are likely to be less forgiving on average than Mr. Rogan.