Trump throws himself a Great Gatsby party while people can’t even afford ketchup

New polls show people are disgusted with Trump!

Trump’s Great Gatsby party

“We now have one of the worst consumer sentiments we have seen in decades.” Those were the alarming words last week from the CEO of Kraft Heinz after the company reported a big drop in earnings over the prior three months. Due to economic conditions worsening, they found that some consumers can’t even afford ketchup.

Yet there was America’s wannabe “emperor” Donald Trump and his oligarch friends throwing a Great Gatsby themed Halloween party Friday night at Mar-a-Lago. This fête was titled, “A little party never killed nobody”—which was a reference to a song from the 2013 film adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby. Photos from Trump’s party reveal people dressed in “Roaring 20’s” garb with feathers and flapper dresses, professional burlesque type dancers hired to entertain and even a scantily clad woman in a huge martini glass. (Below is a video clip of the professional dancers hired for the event.)

Many slammed this opulence at a time when SNAP benefits were about to end for 40 plus million people including children, a government shutdown continues where people are working with no pay and ACA health insurance rates are skyrocketing because the GOP ended subsidies. As Democratic Sen Chris Murphy put it about Trump’s Gatsby themed party, “The way he rubs his inhumanity in Americans’ face never ceases to stun me.”

However, in some ways Trump’s Gatsby “Roaring 20’s” themed event sums up well where we are given income inequality in the U.S. today increasingly mirrors levels seen in the lead up to the Great Depression. It was this type of opulence during the Gilded Age—while so many people suffered—which sparked a backlash against the wealthy and ushered in progressive reforms.

Adding to the callousness was that hours before the Gatsby party, Trump bragged online about his brand new marble and gold plated bathroom in the White House. He even shared photos of the bathroom complete with designer robes. CNBC—not a progressive outlet--reported Trump’s bathroom boast led some to slam Trump as “tone deaf” given he was sharing these images in the midst of a government shutdown. But like the wealthy in the Gilded Age, bragging about flashy items is what gives them clout.

Trump’s new bathroom in White House

To be honest, if we were in economic boom where everyone was doing well perhaps (just perhaps) these events could be ignored. But we are not. Instead, we are now living in an economy where the rich get richer while the rest of us increasingly struggle on a daily level.

I know you are saying: Isn’t that always the case?! Yes, but it’s now more acute. That is why economic experts are saying we are living in a “K-shaped” economy. That is where the well off are spending like nothing’s wrong. However, working class and lower-income people are making significant changes in their spending habits to make ends meet.

Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell backed this up earlier last week stating, “On the K-shaped economy…if you listen to the earnings calls or the reports of big public consumer-facing companies, many, many of them are saying there is a bifurcated economy there and that consumers at the lower end are struggling and buying less and shifting to lower-cost products.” He added, “But at the top, people are spending, at the higher income and wealth.”

Yep, the recent earnings reports for companies backed that up—well beyond just Heinz. Last week, Chipotle reported miserable earnings and cut its sales-growth forecast again. Why? Young and lower-income consumers—which are Chipotle’s core customers-- are cutting back on their spending because they simply can’t afford it. As the company’s CEO explained, the “consumer is under pressure,” adding especially those making less than $100,00 a year.

Other consumer companies like Coca-Cola, Delta and Crocs backed that up—noting the companies are still doing well in sales to higher income. But as the head of Crocs stated, “There is a large portion of consumers who are nervous, they are in less-good financial shape and are being super cautious about their spending and certainly spending closer to need.”

Regardless of income level, we are all feeling the pain of inflation that has ratcheted up over Trump’s first year in office—often tied to his tariffs. The latest inflation report released last week found prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs surged more than 5% in the past year. In addition, energy costs are up--with electricity jumping by 5.1%, and natural gas up 11.7%.

This explains why recent consumer confidence reports are at near-record-low rating. And in late October, the Consumer Confidence board found the short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market condition have fallen to levels that typically indicate fear that a recession is looming.

Despite this, Trump is constantly bragging that the economy is amazing and his poll numbers at record highs—both lies that the corporate media repeats. But three new polls released Sunday—ironically all by corporate media outlets—tell us that people are feeling the pain and they are blaming Trump for it.

A new CBS poll finds that only 38% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy and lower, 34%, like how he is addressing inflation. That poll gives Trump an overall approval rating of 41%--the lowest of his second term.

A new ABC News poll was even worse given two-thirds of Americans say that the country is “pretty seriously off on the wrong track.” In fact, the ABC poll finds Americans “disapprove of how Trump is handling every issue measured in the poll.” Yes, Trump is underwater on every single issue—with nearly 60% blaming him for inflation. And about 6 in 10 of those with household incomes under $50,000 say the economy is worse since Trump was sworn in.

Finally, a new NBC News poll backed up that the economy is faltering--with only 34% approving of how Trump is handling the economy. There were two other findings in the NBC poll, however, that were uniquely bad for Trump. The first was that only 33% of American believe Trump is “looking out for the middle class” while 65% disagree. They are seeing what the rest of us are, namely Trump is focused on personally profiting off being in the White House and helping his oligarch friends with little concern for the rest of us.

The second finding of note from the NBC News poll is that people are connecting their economic woes to Trump and the GOP. That came in response to the question of “Who do you want to control Congress?” The response was 50% Democrats to 42% Republican—a massive eight-point gap. Future polls will tell us if this is an outlier or not.

All three of these polls show something else: Anger towards Trump. You can see that in response to the question of whether people “strongly approve” or “strongly disapprove” Trump? Well, the ABC poll for example found just 20% strongly approve—compared to 46% who strongly disapprove. That 26% point gap between people who love Trump versus those who are angry with him is how you measure enthusiasm heading into a midterm election!

People are feeling pain. And what are they seeing from Trump? He’s holding an opulent Great Gatsby party, bragging about his new marble, gold plated bathroom and tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a glitzy ballroom for him and his fellow oligarchs—this last item is only supported by 28% of Americans.

Trump believes he doesn’t have to answer to the people—like a King. While it’s true he will never be on the ballot again, all the GOP House members of Congress will be in 2026. And that is where we make it clear that Trump’s new Gilded Age is coming to an end.

---