On the eve of the suspension of biggest plan against hunger in the United States, on which 42 million people depend, Donald Trump held a Halloween party inspired by The Great Gatsby and the roaring twenties. Images of the president, surrounded by members of his government and donors among dancers in feather dresses and live jazz music, have unleashed a cascade of criticism.
The gap between the reality that people live SNAP beneficiaries (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), without funds since the government shutdown more than a month ago, and the luxury that was breathed behind the doors of Mar-a-Lago is evident. While the queues at food banks grow and hundreds of thousands of civil servants await their paychecks, Trump’s mansion boasted dessert banquets and ice sculptures serving champagne. The guest list included the Secretary of State, Marco Rubioand his wife, as well as the president’s daughters, Tiffany Trump, with her husband, and Ivankaalongside Jared Kushner.
The theme of the party, according to the White House, was “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody”, a song from the film adaptation of The Great Gatsbythe novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald that portrays the Moral decay of luxury and the corruption of the American dreamled by its protagonist, the millionaire Jay Gatsby, known for organizing extravagant parties at his mansion on Long Island, New York.
Criticism of the president
California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of the most combative Democratic figures against Trump, criticized the party in a post on He doesn’t care about you at all”, he assured.
The senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphyjoined the comments against the president’s celebration. “The way he shows off his lack of humanity in the faces of Americans never ceases to amaze me,” he declared. “Illegally refuses to pay food stamp benefits…while throwing an overly ostentatious Gatsby-style party for his right-wing corporate and millionaire friends,” he posted on his X profile.
However, the government dismisses the criticism. White House spokesperson Anna Kellydeclared to The Independent In response to the controversy that Democrats “are full of lies.”” and held them responsible for cuts to social programs. “President Trump has consistently called for them to do the right thing and reopen the government, something they could do at any time,” Kelly said.
Social cuts
The suspension of SNAP food stamps is one of the many areas that is being affected by the US government shutdown, along with the freezing the salaries of hundreds of thousands of public employees and even problems in air traffic.
Republicans blame Democrats for the government shutdown and say there is little they can do. “The American people are already suffering, and the suffering is going to get much worse.“, declared before the press the vice president JD Vance. “It’s not because the president of the United States has failed to make the shutdown painless. He has done everything he can to make the impact as painless as possible,” he insisted. For his part, Trump published in Truth Social: “I don’t want Americans to go hungry just because Radical Democrats Refuse to Do the Right Thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT”.
Hours before SNAP payments were canceled, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to begin funding food stamps with emergency funds worth $5 billion. However, the administration says it does not have permission to use the contingency fund, contradicting a previous Department of Agriculture plan to keep SNAP active during the shutdown.
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