By Ben Meiselas
I just recorded my latest report on today’s news. Be sure to watch above ad-free as a thank you for subscribing to the Meidas+ Substack. You can also watch and share on YouTube.
That video you’ll see at the start, the one from Sumy, Ukraine, is a stark reminder that the world is burning. Russia’s missile attacks there have reached a two-and-a-half-year high. Families are displaced, infrastructure is collapsing, and democracy is literally under fire. Meanwhile, here at home, millions of Americans are going hungry as SNAP benefits dry up, rent skyrockets, and healthcare access collapses.
And what is Donald Trump doing in this moment of global and domestic crisis? Throwing a Great Gatsby–themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago.
The theme, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody,” could not be more grotesque in its irony. As families stand in the longest food bank lines in modern history, Trump and his inner circle dance beneath chandeliers, drinking champagne and laughing in gold-plated rooms. Eric Trump’s family dressed as literal money. Cabinet members and senators mingled among performers dressed as flappers, twirling and grinning while Americans starve. It may be the Roaring 20s for Trump and his rich cronies, but not for everyone else. And perhaps someone should let them know how the Roaring 20s ended?
It’s not that leaders can’t have lives or enjoy moments of celebration. It’s that Trump’s entire worldview, his policies, his rhetoric, his cruelty, turns even a party into a symbol of contempt. “They’re quite literally laughing at you as they starve you to death,” I said on my report, because that’s exactly what it feels like. While his administration shuts down the government and blocks SNAP payments, he hosts a lavish tribute to excess.
The hypocrisy doesn’t stop there. As Trump’s “cabinet” parties, his Homeland Security officials manipulate social media posts, even doctoring videos of young Black men, to spread racist propaganda and claim “cartels put bounties on ICE agents.” Federal agents are firing tear gas and pepper balls at peaceful residents in Chicago who are simply trying to stop their neighbors from being kidnapped by Trump’s immigration squads.
And Trump? He’s posting photos of himself with influencers and bragging about new marble faucets and gold rugs in the Lincoln Bedroom. He attacks Black judges and prosecutors. He lies about “helping the working class” while openly sneering, “When you talk about SNAP, it’s largely Democrats who use it.” Never mind that millions of his own supporters depend on the very programs he’s dismantling.
It’s hard to overstate how disconnected, and dangerous, this level of delusion is. Trump’s so-called “trade wins” with China have been catastrophic. Under Biden, America exported 27 million metric tons of soybeans to China; under Trump’s new “deal,” it’s just 12 million this year, then 25 million next year, and even that’s not guaranteed. He claims victory while giving away leverage and letting China reevaluate rare earth exports annually, a deal that weakens American manufacturing.
And still, he insists that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “never would have happened” if he were in office. Let’s be honest. The missiles raining down on Ukrainian cities right now are happening because of his instability and surrender to authoritarians.
All of this brings me back to The Great Gatsby. The novel Trump’s party was based on is not a celebration of decadence. It’s a warning about it. Fitzgerald’s message was clear: the American Dream, when corrupted by greed, becomes hollow. The pursuit of wealth without morality leads only to decay. The “old money” elite live without consequence, insulated by privilege, while the rest of society bears the cost of their recklessness.
That’s Trumpism in a nutshell. A hollow pursuit of power and profit, built on lies, cruelty, and self-indulgence. The so-called “party” is not harmless. It’s the rot underneath a crumbling system. And just like Gatsby’s guests, Trump and his enablers will find that all the gold, all the marble, all the champagne in the world can’t hide the moral bankruptcy of their movement.
There’s nothing “roaring” about this version of the 1920s. It’s just the sound of decay dressed up as glamour. And we will continue to expose it. Every single day.
Thanks for your kind words about these mid-day recaps. Watch my report above, like and share this post, and keep spreading the word. And thanks again for subscribing to the MeidasTouch Podcast on your favorite audio platforms, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I also hope you have a chance to watch our new documentary The Last Republican this weekend. Thanks to you, it’s now the #1 documentary in the U.S. on Apple TV.
Ok, back to work for me. See you soon.
