Trump Hosts Gatsby-Themed Party as SNAP Benefits Lapse for Millions

On October 31, 2025, Trump hosted a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago, with guests including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of the Trump family dressed in 1920s attire, as federal judges were actively ruling on whether the administration could withhold food assistance during the ongoing government shutdown. The party's theme, drawn from the song "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody," coincided with uncertainty over whether roughly 42 million Americans would receive their SNAP benefits on November 1.

Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Chris Murphy, criticized the contrast between the lavish party and the looming lapse in food assistance, accusing the administration of prioritizing spectacle over aid to low-income families. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly countered that Democrats bore responsibility for the shutdown and could end it at any time.

The episode became a widely covered symbol of the broader shutdown fight over SNAP funding, illustrating the political optics risk of high-visibility White House entertaining during a period of acute hardship for benefit recipients nationwide.