In the alternate world of Miami, billionaires from Saudi Arabia mingled with affluent American tycoons like Jeff Bezos and Ken Griffin, and tickets to an extremely conservative business conference featuring Donald Trump could reach $1,990.
Instead, the America Business Forum organizers prepared a small treat for attendees, a $50 gift card to spend on food to sustain themselves while they listened to their president congratulate himself on a "golden age" he claimed his "economic miracle" had delivered in an apparent attempt to mock the growing gap between the city's haves and have-nots.
Proponents claim that the action was an untimely insult to the more than 500,000 people of Miami-Dade County, as did the conference's lavish expenditures.
“There’s just a massive cognitive dissonance between what real people are going through, and the elite,”
said Larry Hannan, communications and policy director of State Voices Florida, a coalition of more than a hundred non-partisan, pro-democracy and civic engagement groups.
“Jeff Bezos does not need a $50 food card. But we saw that with the Great Gatsby theme party last week. They just can’t seem to stop doing things that are shockingly out of touch.
We’ve been through shutdowns before, and while obviously the White House bubble is always somewhat insane, presidents are usually smart enough, they usually know not to flaunt this type of stuff. But this administration does not seem to care.”
The two-day program, which was mostly organized by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, featured a wide range of speakers from the fields of politics, sports, and business. Trump also discussed his economic vision.
Tennis winners Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, as well as Argentina's Lionel Messi, the World Cup-winning soccer player, offered superstar sparkle from the sports world. A discussion between Suarez and María Corina Machado, the democratic campaigner and leader of the Venezuelan opposition who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, a prize that Trump was vying for.
Overall, though, it was an odd and clearly politically charged occasion, with a field of Trump sycophants on stage, loudly applauded by a crowd of primarily younger and wealthy presidential supporters in the audience.
The advocates of State Voices Florida, however, believe many Miamians are more focused right now on other issues, especially soaring housing and food costs. Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis rejected a call from Hannan’s group and others to declare an emergency over Snap benefits and tap state reserves to fund urgent food distribution.
“Any civics teacher would tell you it’s his job to look after the people of Florida, and he’s doing the exact opposite,”
Hannan said, noting the juxtaposition of a conference of billionaires taking place in the same county in which almost 25% of households rely on Snap benefits to survive.
“There just seems to be this detachment at the top. I don’t think the answer is electing a Democrat or electing a Republican, I just think we have to have more empathy for people who are struggling in this state.”
Empathy was in short supply in Miami from Trump, a president not known for ever taking responsibility during a crisis.
“The radical left Democrats are causing millions of Americans who depend on food stamps to go without benefits,”
he said, blaming the out-of-office opposition party for the government shutdown.
“I just want to have a country that’s great again. Is that OK?”
What will be the immediate impacts of SNAP cuts on families?
Millions of families will witness increased food instability, floundering to get enough nutritional reflections, leading to lesser hunger and malnutrition. Children are particularly affected, with cuts aggravating educational injuries as hunger undermines attention, literacy, and health.
Food presses and original charities face surging demand they can not meet, while small grocers and growers lose significant deals, changing their viability. Families may be forced to make delicate choices between food and other introductory charges similar as rent or serviceability, heightening fiscal difficulty.
Health issues worsen as food instability contributes to habitual ails, adding strain on hospitals and healthcare systems. SNAP cuts will consolidate poverty and difficulty in formerly vulnerable populations, undermining social stability and profitable health across affected areas.