While President Donald Trump watched LIV golfers at his golf course outside Washington on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Qatar’s prime minister in Miami amid a stalemate to end to the punishing war with Iran.

Trump sat in the presidential suite at Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Virginia, with his son Eric Trump and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, among others. Late Saturday afternoon, the president posted to social media AI-generated images — one of himself appearing to be on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz and another featuring sunken Iranian warships.

Rubio and Witkoff, meanwhile, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to try to hash out a peace deal, according to Axios. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott did not describe the meeting as peace talks, but said Rubio and the Qatari leader discussed the “importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”

Amid soaring gas prices, the U.S. awaited Iran’s response to the latest peace proposal, which the Qataris have been quietly helping to negotiate, according to Axios.

Trump administration has repeatedly downplayed the economic strain on Americans, arguing that higher fuel costs are a temporary consequence of confronting Iran. On Saturday, the national average of regular gas was $4.53, according to AAA, up about $1.38 from last year. 

“We are seeing the national average for gasoline and diesel prices drift lower so far this weekend but we WILL jolt higher on Monday. This is the calm before the storm,” Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, said in a post on X on Saturday.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett acknowledged in an interview with Fox News Friday evening that gas prices have risen to levels that are “unacceptably high for people, but we think it’s a small price to pay, in the end, for ending this regime that has nuclear weapons pointed at the U.S. and our allies.”

Democrats have sharply criticized Trump and his administration for the pain Americans are feeling at the pump.

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., on Saturday blasted Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on social media, accusing the Trump administration of forcing Americans to absorb higher fuel costs while administration officials like Duffy travel at taxpayers’ expense.

“While you can’t afford a trip for your family this summer, you just paid for Sean Duffy’s 7-month road trip at $4.55 per gallon of gas,” Pritzker wrote.

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Ebony Davis

Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.