This was the week in which Republicans suffered a beating at the ballot box, the government shutdown turned into the longest in US history, and millions throughout the nation, encompassing three million residents in Florida, experienced their nutrition assistance slashed.
Yet, in the contrasting world of Miami, where tickets to an largely right-leaning business conference fronted by Donald Trump cost up to $1,990, and billionaires from Saudi Arabia mingled with equally affluent American tycoons such as Jeff Bezos and the hedge fund manager, those developments created barely a ripple.
Conversely, in a gesture that seemed almost to mock the growing divide between the urban area's haves and less fortunate, planners of the corporate summit prepared a small perk for attendees: a fifty-dollar gift card to spend on meals to sustain themselves while they listened to their leader congratulate himself for a era of prosperity he said his financial success had achieved.
Advocates argue the action, along with the lavish extravagance of the event itself, was an poorly timed affront to over a half-million local residents who just saw their own capacity to buy essential groceries for their families curtailed by the reduction of the federal food stamp program.
“There exists a significant disconnect between what real people are experiencing, and the privileged,” said Larry Hannan, spokesperson of State Voices Florida, a coalition of over a hundred non-partisan, democracy-focused and community involvement groups.
“Jeff Bezos hardly requires a fifty-dollar meal voucher. But we saw that with the 1920s-inspired gala last week. They just appear unable to stop doing things that are shockingly out of touch.
“We have experienced government closures before, and while clearly the presidential environment is always somewhat unrealistic, presidents are usually astute enough, they generally know not to display this type of stuff. But this administration does not seem to care.”
The leader's hour-long address on the event's second day had the tone of a campaign event, with familiar criticisms 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.
The former president touched on his financial policies, and praised a host of presenters from the worlds of government, sport and business that filled the two-day schedule, created largely by the mayor of the city of Miami to showcase the region and its investment opportunities.
Lionel Messi, the Argentinian football icon and World Cup winner, provided star power from sporting circles, along with grand slam winners Rafael Nadal and the American athlete. A discussion between the city leader and the Venezuelan opposition leader, the political figure who last month won the Nobel peace prize, was well received on the opening day.
Yet overall it was a notable and unmistakably partisan gathering with a field of supportive speakers on the stage, enthusiastically applauded by a audience of predominantly younger and wealthy backers of the president in the crowd, some blending business suits with his trademark red Make America Great Again (Maga) caps.
How else to account for the attendance of the rightwing president of Argentina, the country whose shaky economy the US helped shore up last month with a twenty-billion-dollar currency swap? Or that of Saudi Arabians Fahad AlSaif, head of its $925bn Public Investment Fund, and Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's diplomatic envoy, touting their nation as an opportunity while the former first family's business connections and sway there face increased examination?
Then there was the head of world soccer’s governing body, suggesting that Trump is in line for the organization’s inaugural award, a controversial honor that commentators see created specifically for the leader as consolation for his Nobel snub.
Additional participants, including the CEO of the banking giant; the creator of WeWork; and the financial executive, have all previously supported, worked with or voted for Trump, offering clear evidence of a politically skewed lineup.
The city leader, predictably, saw it differently.
“We wanted it to be a sort of a diverse representation from various sectors, right?” he explained to media.
“We got in a room. We said, ‘Hey, what are the prominent figures?’ Individuals from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, all genders … athletics, business, government, tech, things that impact daily life.”
He highlighted conversations of forthcoming, money-spinning notable events in Miami, encompassing the Formula One grand prix, next year’s global conference at a leisure property, and matches during the soccer tournament, which he called “a generational opportunity”.
“The intention is that local residents are inspired by the event,” the official said. “We want them to leave thinking, ‘I can be on that stage.’”
The representatives of the civic group, however, contend many locals are more focused right now on other issues, especially soaring housing and grocery prices. Florida’s GOP leader declined a request from the group and others to issue an emergency over food assistance and utilize public funds to fund urgent nutrition programs.
“Every social studies instructor would tell you it’s his job to care for the people of Florida, and he’s doing the reverse,” the advocate said, noting the juxtaposition of a conference of ultra-wealthy individuals taking place in the identical region in which almost 25% of families rely on Snap benefits to survive.
“It appears to be this disconnection at the highest levels. I do not believe the answer is choosing a Democrat or electing a conservative, I just think we have to have more empathy for individuals who are struggling in this region.”
Empathy was in short supply in Miami from the former president, a president not known for ever accepting blame during a difficult period.
“The radical left Democrats are resulting in countless of Americans who depend on food stamps to go without support,” he said, attributing fault to the opposition party for the government shutdown.
“I just want to have a country that’s great again. Is that acceptable?”
