Trump hosts traditional Mar-a-Lago Halloween festivities amid budget standoff

President Donald Trump hosted an opulent Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, October 31.

The lavish party followed the theme of “A little party never killed nobody,” saw attendees including Secretary of State Marco Rubio who was seen in a Roaring Twenties costume.

However, the event faced immediate criticism as the celebration coincided with the 31st day of a federal government shutdown threatening food assistance for millions of low-income Americans.

Additionally, there’s also a looming suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefitting 42 million Americans, which is set to begin the following day.

Due to an ironic clash of timing of the festivities, critics compared the party to F.Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby. The novel is a 1952 tragedy and a critique of wealth, class, disruption, and the stark reality of the American dream.

On October 1, 2025, THE government shutdown occurred for the first time in 6 years. It results from the failure of reaching 60 votes from both the Republican and Democratic funding bills in the Senate.

By October 20, 2025, the crisis deepened intensely as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faced a critical funding shortage. With this program, the federal government helps people buy food if they can’t afford it.

Around 22 million households including 42 million Americans benefit from SNAP representing roughly one in eight people in the United States.

As the party carried on at Mar-a-Lago, the Americans awaited a resolution to a crisis leaving its most vulnerable citizens in a state of uncertainty.