President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought validation from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Justin Gaethje for his stance on the ongoing war with Iran, as he hosted a group of MMA fighters at the White House. The event came ahead of a planned UFC competition at the White House next month.
During the Oval Office meeting, a reporter asked the president why he feels optimistic about the possibility of a deal to end the two-month-old conflict, and what makes the current situation different from previous occasions when he claimed a deal was close only to backtrack.
In response, Trump repeated familiar boasts about the state of Tehran's conventional military forces, claiming it would take the Islamic Republic two decades to rebuild what has been lost to American bombs since February 28. He then turned to Gaethje, asking, 'You would call that 'we're in good shape,' right?'
Gaethje responded, 'Fantastic shape.' Seemingly satisfied, Trump reiterated that the U.S. is 'in good shape' and added, 'We're doing well.' He continued, 'Now we have to get what we have to get. If we don't do that, we'll have to go a big step. But with that being said, they want to make a deal.'
The president claimed there have been 'very good talks' with Tehran over the last 24 hours and that it is 'very possible that we'll make a deal.' When asked for statistics to justify his claim, Trump suggested that Iran's negotiators forget previous agreements due to 'pride,' comparing them to the fighters behind him.
'You know, they're proud. Like, like, these guys are proud. Nobody more proud than these guys. Sometimes they fight on pride because, you know, they're injured. They're hurt. No matter how great you are. You get hit by somebody else that looks like them. It's very tough. But they have great pride. These people have great pride. The others do too. Enemies have great pride,' he said.
