It was the week in which Republicans suffered setbacks at the ballot box, the government shutdown became the most extended in history, and millions throughout the country, encompassing 3 million in Florida, saw their federal food aid reduced.
Yet, in the alternative reality of the Magic City, where tickets to an overwhelmingly conservative corporate gathering fronted by the former president cost up to $1,990, and ultra-wealthy individuals from Saudi Arabia mingled with equally affluent US magnates including Jeff Bezos and Ken Griffin, those developments generated scarcely any reaction.
Instead, in a gesture that seemed almost to highlight the growing disparity between the urban area's affluent and have-nots, planners of the America Business Forum cooked up a little treat for participants: a fifty-dollar gift card to use on food to sustain themselves while they listened to their leader praise himself for a “golden age” he said his financial success had achieved.
Critics argue the action, along with the high-budget extravagance of the event itself, was an poorly timed affront to more than a half-million Miami-Dade county 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 real people are experiencing, and the privileged,” stated Larry Hannan, communications and policy director of State Voices Florida, a alliance of more than a 100 non-partisan, democracy-focused and community involvement groups.
“The Amazon founder hardly requires a fifty-dollar food card. But we observed that with the Great Gatsby theme party last week. They just appear unable to stop doing things that are shockingly out of touch.
“We’ve been through government closures before, and while obviously the White House bubble is always fairly unrealistic, presidents are typically astute enough, they usually know not to display this type of stuff. But this administration does not seem to care.”
The president’s lengthy address on the event's second day had the tone of a political rally, with familiar insults for longtime adversaries including the Senate minority leader and the West Coast leader, and a new one: the recently voted-in democratic socialist NYC leader.
Trump discussed his economic agenda, and lauded a host of speakers from the realms of politics, athletics and commerce that filled the multi-day schedule, organized largely by the mayor of the city of Miami to highlight south Florida and its economic potential.
Lionel Messi, the Argentina football icon and World Cup winner, offered celebrity glitz from the athletic world, along with tennis champions Rafael Nadal and the American athlete. A conversation between the Miami mayor and the Venezuelan opposition leader, the democracy activist who last month won the Nobel peace prize, was favorably viewed on day one.
Nevertheless in general it was a notable and unmistakably partisan event with a roster of supportive speakers on the podium, enthusiastically applauded by a crowd of predominantly more youthful and wealthy supporters of the leader in the audience, some blending professional attire with his signature red MAGA caps.
In what other way to account for the attendance of the rightwing South American leader, the nation whose unstable financial system the US supported last month with a $20bn lifeline? Or that of Kingdom representatives Fahad AlSaif, head of its $925bn Public Investment Fund, and the ambassador, Riyadh’s diplomatic envoy, touting their country as ripe for investment while the former first family's financial ties and influence there face increased examination?
Then there was the head of Fifa, suggesting that Trump is being considered for the organization’s inaugural award, a controversial honor that observers see created specifically for the leader as consolation for his Nobel snub.
Other speakers, including the CEO of the banking giant; the founder of WeWork; and the financial executive, have all in the past praised, worked with or voted for Trump, providing more than a suggestion of a politically skewed roster.
The city leader, unsurprisingly, saw it differently.
“We wanted it to be a sort of a diverse representation from different verticals, right?” he explained to reporters.
“We got in a room. We said, ‘Hey, what are the prominent figures?’ People from varied origins, different ethnicities, different genders … sports, business, government, technology, things that impact daily life.”
He pointed to conversations of forthcoming, money-spinning notable events in Miami, encompassing the Formula One grand prix, next year’s global conference at a golf resort, and games during the soccer tournament, which he called “a historic moment”.
“The intention is that local residents are inspired by the experience,” the official said. “We want them to leave thinking, ‘I can be on that stage.’”
The representatives of the civic group, however, believe numerous Miamians are more focused right now on other issues, especially soaring housing and grocery prices. Florida’s Republican governor declined a request from the group and others to declare an emergency over Snap benefits and tap public funds to support immediate food distribution.
“Any civics teacher would tell you it’s his responsibility to look after the people of the state, and he’s doing the reverse,” the advocate said, noting the contrast of a conference of billionaires taking place in the identical region in which nearly 25% of families depend on Snap benefits to get by.
“There just seems to be this disconnection at the highest levels. I do not believe the answer is electing a liberal or selecting a Republican, I just think we have to have more empathy for people who are facing difficulties in this state.”
Compassion was in limited quantity in Miami from Trump, a leader unrecognized for ever taking responsibility during a crisis.
“The radical left Democrats are causing countless of Americans who depend on nutritional aid to go without benefits,” he said, attributing fault to the out-of-office political group for the federal closure.
“My desire is to have a country that’s prosperous once more. Is that acceptable?”
