This was the week in which Republicans suffered setbacks at the polls, the federal closure became the longest in US history, and countless individuals throughout the country, encompassing three million residents in Florida, saw their federal food aid slashed.
Yet, in the contrasting world of Miami, where tickets to an overwhelmingly right-leaning corporate gathering fronted by the former president were priced up to $1,990, and ultra-wealthy individuals from the Gulf kingdom rubbed shoulders with equally wealthy US magnates including the Amazon founder and the hedge fund manager, those developments generated scarcely any reaction.
Instead, in a gesture that seemed almost to mock the widening divide between the city’s affluent and have-nots, organizers of the corporate summit prepared a little treat for participants: a $50 voucher to spend on food to sustain themselves while they listened to their president congratulate himself for a “golden age” he said his financial success had achieved.
Advocates say the move, along with the lavish opulence of the event itself, was an ill-timed affront to more than a 500,000 local inhabitants who just saw their own ability to buy basic food items for their families curtailed by the gutting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).
“There exists a significant cognitive dissonance between what ordinary citizens are going through, and the elite,” said a policy director, spokesperson of State Voices Florida, a alliance of over a hundred non-aligned, democracy-focused and civic engagement organizations.
“The Amazon founder hardly requires a $50 food card. But we observed that with the 1920s-inspired gala last week. They just appear unable to stop engaging in things that are strikingly out of touch.
“We have experienced government closures before, and while clearly the presidential environment is always fairly unrealistic, presidents are usually smart enough, they usually know not to display this type of stuff. But this government does not appear concerned.”
The leader's lengthy speech on Thursday had the tone of a campaign event, with familiar insults for old political foes including the Democratic leader and the West Coast leader, and a new one: the recently voted-in democratic socialist NYC leader.
The former president discussed his economic agenda, and lauded a array of speakers from the worlds of politics, sport and commerce that populated the two-day agenda, created largely by the mayor of the city of Miami to highlight the region and its investment opportunities.
Lionel Messi, the Argentina football icon and World Cup winner, provided star power from the athletic world, along with grand slam winners the Spanish player and Serena Williams. A conversation between the Miami mayor and the Venezuelan opposition leader, the political figure who last month won the prestigious award, was favorably viewed on the opening day.
Nevertheless overall it was a notable and unmistakably politically charged gathering with a field of Trump sycophants on the podium, loudly cheered by a crowd of mostly more youthful and affluent supporters of the president in the audience, some blending professional attire with his trademark red Make America Great Again (Maga) caps.
In what other way to explain the presence of the conservative president of Argentina, the nation whose unstable financial system the US supported last month with a $20bn currency swap? Or that of Saudi Arabians the fund chief, head of its massive sovereign wealth fund, and the ambassador, Riyadh’s ambassador to the US, promoting their country as ripe for investment while the former first family's business connections and sway there come under greater scrutiny?
Then there was the head of Fifa, dropping hints that Trump is in line for the group's first peace prize, a controversial new award that commentators see established specifically for the president as consolation for his Nobel snub.
Other participants, including the chief executive of JP Morgan; the creator of the co-working firm; and the hedge-fund manager, have all in the past supported, collaborated with or voted for the former president, providing more than a suggestion of a politically skewed roster.
The Miami mayor, unsurprisingly, had a contrasting view.
“Our aim was it to be a kind of a diverse representation from different verticals, right?” he told media.
“We convened. We said, ‘Hey, what are the leading voices?’ People from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, all genders … athletics, business, government, technology, things that touch everyone’s lives.”
He highlighted discussions of forthcoming, lucrative major occasions in the city, encompassing the F1 race, next year’s global conference at a leisure property, and games during the soccer tournament, which he called “a historic moment”.
“The intention is that local residents are inspired by the event,” the official said. “We want them to leave believing, ‘I can be on that stage.’”
The representatives of State Voices Florida, on the other hand, contend numerous Miamians are concentrating right now on different concerns, especially soaring housing and food costs. The state's GOP leader declined a call from the group and additional parties to declare an crisis over Snap benefits and tap public funds to support immediate nutrition programs.
“Every civics teacher would tell you it’s his job to look after the residents of Florida, and he’s doing the reverse,” Hannan said, observing the juxtaposition of a conference of billionaires taking place in the identical region in which nearly one quarter of households depend on food stamps to get by.
“It appears to be this detachment at the top. I do not believe the answer is choosing a liberal or selecting a conservative, I just think we have to have more empathy for people who are struggling in this state.”
Empathy was in limited quantity in the city from the former president, a leader not known for ever taking responsibility during a crisis.
“Opposition lawmakers are causing countless of Americans who depend on nutritional aid to go without support,” he said, attributing fault to the out-of-office political group for the federal closure.
“I just want to have a nation that’s prosperous once more. Is that acceptable?”
