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This was the period in which Republicans suffered a beating at the polls, the government shutdown became the most extended in history, and countless individuals across the nation, including three million residents in the Sunshine State, experienced their federal food aid slashed.

Yet, in the contrasting world of the Magic City, where admission passes to an largely conservative business conference headlined by Donald Trump were priced up to $1,990, and billionaires from Saudi Arabia mingled with equally affluent US magnates including Jeff Bezos and the hedge fund manager, those events created barely a ripple.

Instead, in a move that seemed almost to highlight the widening divide between the city’s haves and have-nots, planners of the corporate summit cooked up a small perk for participants: a fifty-dollar voucher to spend on food to support themselves while they paid attention to their president praise himself for a era of prosperity he said his “economic miracle” had achieved.

Critics say the move, along with the lavish opulence of the conference itself, was an poorly timed insult to over a 500,000 Miami-Dade county inhabitants who just saw their own capacity to buy basic food items for their families curtailed by the gutting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).

“There exists a significant disconnect between what real people are going through, and the privileged,” said Larry Hannan, spokesperson of a civic coalition, a alliance of more than a 100 non-partisan, democracy-focused and community involvement organizations.

“The Amazon founder hardly requires a $50 meal voucher. But we saw that with the 1920s-inspired gala last week. They just can’t seem to stop doing things that are shockingly disconnected.

“We have experienced government closures before, and while clearly the presidential environment is always somewhat insane, leaders are usually astute enough, they generally know not to flaunt this type of stuff. But this administration does not seem to care.”

The leader's hour-long speech on Thursday had the tone of a campaign event, with well-known insults for longtime adversaries including the Senate minority leader and California’s governor, and a fresh target: the recently voted-in progressive NYC leader.

Trump touched on his economic agenda, and lauded a array of presenters from the worlds of government, athletics and business that filled the multi-day agenda, organized primarily by the mayor of the city of Miami to showcase the region and its investment opportunities.

Lionel Messi, the Argentinian football icon and World Cup winner, provided celebrity glitz from the athletic world, along with grand slam winners Rafael Nadal and the American athlete. A conversation between the Miami mayor and the Venezuelan opposition leader, the democracy activist who last month received the Nobel peace prize, was well received on day one.

Nevertheless overall it was a curious and unmistakably politically charged gathering with a field of supportive speakers on the stage, enthusiastically applauded by a audience of mostly more youthful and affluent backers of the president in the crowd, some combining professional attire with his signature red MAGA caps.

In what other way to account for the attendance of the rightwing president of Argentina, the nation whose shaky economy the US helped shore up last month with a twenty-billion-dollar currency swap? Or that of Saudi Arabians the fund chief, head of its $925bn sovereign wealth fund, and Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Riyadh’s diplomatic envoy, touting their nation as ripe for investment while the former first family's financial ties and influence there come under increased examination?

Then there was the head of Fifa, suggesting that Trump is in line for the group's first peace prize, a controversial new award that observers see established specifically for the president as compensation for his Nobel snub.

Additional speakers, including the chief executive of the banking giant; the founder of WeWork; and the hedge-fund manager, have all previously praised, collaborated with or backed Trump, providing clear evidence of a politically skewed lineup.

The city leader, unsurprisingly, had a contrasting view.

“Our aim was it to be a sort of a diverse representation from various sectors, right?” he told reporters.

“We convened. We said, ‘Hey, what are the prominent figures?’ People from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different genders … sports, commerce, politics, technology, things that touch everyone’s lives.”

He highlighted conversations of upcoming, lucrative notable events in Miami, encompassing the F1 race, next year’s global conference at a leisure property, and matches during the soccer tournament, which he called “a generational opportunity”.

“Our hope is that local residents are transformed by the experience,” the official said. “We want them to leave thinking, ‘I can be on that stage.’”

The representatives of the civic group, however, believe numerous Miamians are more focused right now on other issues, particularly soaring real estate and food costs. Florida’s Republican governor declined a call from the group and others to declare an emergency over Snap benefits and utilize state reserves to fund urgent nutrition programs.

“Any social studies instructor would tell you it’s his responsibility to look after the people of the state, and he’s doing the exact opposite,” Hannan said, observing the juxtaposition of a conference of billionaires taking place in the same county in which nearly one quarter of families depend on Snap benefits to survive.

“It appears to be this detachment at the highest levels. I do not believe the solution is choosing a Democrat or electing a conservative, I just think we have to have more empathy for individuals who are struggling in this state.”

Compassion was in short supply in the city from the former president, a president not known for ever taking responsibility during a difficult period.

“Opposition lawmakers are resulting in millions of citizens who rely on nutritional aid to go without support,” he said, blaming the out-of-office party for the federal closure.

“My desire is to have a nation that’s prosperous once more. Is that OK?”