This was the week in which GOP lawmakers suffered a beating at the polls, the federal closure became the most extended in US history, and millions across the country, encompassing three million residents in Florida, experienced their federal food aid reduced.
Yet, in the alternative reality of the Magic City, where admission passes to an largely right-leaning corporate gathering headlined by the former president cost up to $1,990, and billionaires from the Gulf kingdom mingled with similarly affluent American tycoons including the Amazon founder and Ken Griffin, those events created barely a ripple.
Instead, in a move that seemed almost to highlight the widening divide between the urban area's haves and have-nots, planners of the America Business Forum cooked up a small perk for participants: a fifty-dollar voucher to spend on meals to sustain themselves while they paid attention to their president praise himself for a era of prosperity he said his financial success had delivered.
Advocates say the action, along with the high-budget opulence of the conference itself, was an ill-timed insult to over a 500,000 Miami-Dade county inhabitants who just saw their own ability to buy basic food items for their families kiboshed by the gutting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).
“There’s just a massive cognitive dissonance between what real people are experiencing, and the privileged,” stated Larry Hannan, spokesperson of a civic coalition, a coalition of over a 100 non-partisan, democracy-focused and civic engagement organizations.
“The Amazon founder hardly requires a $50 meal voucher. But we saw that with the Great Gatsby theme party last week. They just can’t seem to stop engaging in things that are shockingly disconnected.
“We’ve been through government closures before, and while clearly the presidential environment is always fairly insane, presidents are usually smart enough, they generally 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 well-known criticisms for old political foes such as the Democratic leader and the West Coast leader, and a fresh target: the newly elected progressive mayor of New York.
The former president touched on his economic agenda, and lauded a host of presenters from the worlds of government, sport and business that populated the two-day schedule, created largely by the mayor of the city of Miami to showcase south Florida and its investment opportunities.
The soccer superstar, the Argentina soccer star and global champion, offered celebrity glitz from sporting circles, along with grand slam winners the Spanish player and Serena Williams. A discussion between the city leader and the Nobel laureate, the democracy activist who last month received the Nobel peace prize, was favorably viewed on the opening day.
Yet in general it was a curious and unmistakably politically charged event with a field of supportive speakers on the podium, enthusiastically applauded by a audience of predominantly more youthful and wealthy backers of the leader in the crowd, some blending business suits with his signature red MAGA caps.
How else to account for the attendance of the rightwing president of Argentina, the country whose shaky financial system Trump helped shore up last month with a $20bn currency swap? Or that of Kingdom representatives Fahad AlSaif, head of its $925bn Public Investment Fund, and the ambassador, Riyadh’s ambassador to the US, touting their country as ripe for investment while the former first family's financial ties and influence there come under greater scrutiny?
Additionally there was the leader of world soccer’s governing body, dropping hints that Trump is being considered for the group's first peace prize, a controversial new award that observers see created specifically for the president as consolation for his prize rejection.
Additional speakers, such as the CEO of JP Morgan; the founder of WeWork; and the financial executive, have all in the past supported, collaborated with or voted for Trump, providing more than a suggestion 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 told reporters.
“We convened. We said, ‘Hey, what are the prominent figures?’ Individuals from different backgrounds, various heritages, all genders … sports, business, government, technology, things that impact daily life.”
He pointed to conversations of forthcoming, money-spinning major occasions in the city, including the Formula One grand prix, next year’s G20 economic summit at a golf resort, and games during the soccer tournament, which he called “a historic moment”.
“Our hope is that Miamians are transformed by the experience,” the mayor said. “We want them to leave thinking, ‘I can be on that stage.’”
The representatives of the civic group, on the other hand, contend many locals are more focused right now on different concerns, particularly rising housing and food costs. Florida’s Republican governor rejected a request from the organization and others to declare an crisis over Snap benefits and utilize public funds to fund immediate nutrition programs.
“Every social studies instructor would tell you it’s his job to look after the residents of the state, and he’s doing the reverse,” Hannan said, observing the juxtaposition of a conference of ultra-wealthy individuals taking place in the identical region in which nearly 25% of families rely on food stamps to get by.
“There just seems to be this disconnection at the top. I do not believe the solution is electing a liberal or electing a Republican, I just think we have to have more empathy for people who are struggling in this region.”
Compassion was in limited quantity in the city from the former president, a president unrecognized for ever taking responsibility during a difficult period.
“Opposition lawmakers are resulting in millions of citizens who rely on food stamps to go without benefits,” he said, blaming the out-of-office party for the government shutdown.
“My desire is to have a country that’s great again. Is that OK?”
