Trump Flees DC and Attends Opulent Party as Government Shutdown Severely Impacts Air Travel and SNAP
Trump hosted lavish Mar-a-Lago party while government shutdown disrupted flights and threatened SNAP benefits.
By Aaron Parnas•November 8, 2025•4 min read
Economy
Good evening, everyone. I hope your Saturday has been a good one so far. It may have been a slower news day, but the stories that did break carry real weight. They range from the deepening fallout of the government shutdown to Trump’s escalating push to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. And ask yourself this: if any other president abandoned Washington during a shutdown to attend a lavish, red-carpet party in Florida, would the press shrug it off? Of course not. It would be a national uproar.
That is the problem. The media has a responsibility to hold every leader, Republican, Democrat, or Independent, to the same standard. When journalists gloss over serious misconduct because “that’s just Trump,” they lower the bar for our entire political system. They normalize behavior that should never be normalized in a functioning democracy.
I will not do that. My work is rooted in naming things clearly, even when they are uncomfortable, even when they challenge the narratives we have grown used to, even when it feels like the country is being numbed into accepting the unacceptable.
As the shutdown deepened and his administration pushed to freeze SNAP benefits and slash air traffic, Trump hosted another opulent Mar-a-Lago party featuring opera, truffle-laced dishes, celebrities, GOP allies and a red carpet, prompting criticism for leaving Washington after demanding senators stay to end the crisis.
Donald Trump now wants to gut funding for the Affordable Care Act and give that money as cash to Americans instead.
A Washington Post review of multiple camera angles found that during an Oval Office event announcing weight-loss drug price cuts, Trump appeared to struggle to stay awake for nearly 20 minutes, repeatedly drooping his head and fighting to keep his eyes open, prompting renewed public scrutiny and highlighting the irony of his past taunts about Biden’s energy and alertness.
Republican Senator called out for misleading social media post suggesting that Trump and Senators were working this weekend. Donald Trump is not currently in Washington, D.C. He is currently at his golf club in Florida.
More than 4,000 flights have been delayed and more than 1,000 canceled as FAA-ordered service reductions hit 40 major airports during the prolonged government shutdown.
Mandatory cutbacks start at 4% this weekend and rise to 10% by Nov. 14, with officials warning that even ending the shutdown won’t instantly restore air traffic controller staffing.
Major airports including Charlotte, Newark, JFK, O’Hare, LaGuardia and Nashville face severe delays, ground stops and hundreds of cancellations due to staffing shortages.
Two jets departing LAX narrowly avoided a mid-air collision after an ITA Airways plane unexpectedly turned into the path of an American Airlines flight, prompting urgent controller warnings and a one-word apology from the ITA pilot before both aircraft continued safely.
Private jets are also restricted to smaller airports so controllers can focus on commercial traffic, with exceptions for emergency and medical flights.
States and travelers are feeling the strain, with Hawaii requesting exemptions due to its reliance on air travel and passengers nationwide dealing with long lines, rebooking chaos and extended delays.
Calls to the national 211 hotline for food assistance exploded from about 1,000 a day to over 4,200 within days of the prolonged government shutdown and delayed SNAP benefits, signaling rising fear, need and strain on local food resources.
As the shutdown drags into day 39, Trump doubles down on his unrealistic push to end the Senate filibuster as leverage, despite Republican resistance, recent GOP election losses and stalled negotiations, while Democrats and the White House trade accusations and fail to agree on a path to reopen the government.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche blasted judges for blocking Trump-era policies and rejected claims of DOJ “weaponization,” calling the legal battles a political “war” while defending recent prosecutions of Trump critics and accusing activist judges, bar authorities, and the media of targeting conservatives.
Trump announced that no U.S. officials will attend the G20 summit in South Africa, escalating his boycott over unverified claims of discrimination and violence against white Afrikaners, despite South Africa’s denials and earlier signs that Vice President Vance would represent the U.S. in his place.
Trump floated a proposal for 50-year mortgages to lower monthly housing costs, but the plan faces legal barriers under Dodd-Frank’s Qualified Mortgage rules and critics warn it would erode homeowner equity while offering only modest payment relief.
