Try GOLD - Free
Trump's tone-deaf displays are turning off voters
Los Angeles Times
|November 06, 2025
The president faced poetic comeuppance after his ostentatious party: a blue wave in Tuesday's elections
ROBERTO SCHMIDT AFP via Getty Images DANCERS at President Trump's "Great Gatsby" party, a conspicuous event amid the shutdown.
RESIDENT TRUMP has long acknowledged that he doesn’t read books, so perhaps he’s never cracked the spine of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” But hasn’t he seen one of the several movies? Does he really not know that Gatsby is a tragedy about class, excess and hubris?
It seems not. On Halloween, there was Trump, dressed as himself, hosting a Gatsby-themed party at his Gatsby-era Mara-Lago estate. The president was fresh from a diplomatic tour of Asia during which he’d swept up an array of golden gifts (a crown!) from heads of state paying tribute in hopes of not paying tariffs.
Trump's arriving guests, costumed as Roaring '20s flappers, bootleggers and pre-crash tycoons, passed a scantily clad woman seductively writhing in a giant Champagne glass, then entered his gilded ballroom beneath a sign in Art Deco script pronouncing the night's theme: “A little party never killed nobody.”
That's the title of a song from the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film take on Gatsby, the most recent. Perhaps Trump is unaware that in the wake of the fictional Gatsby’s own debauched party, three people died, including Gatsby.
The tone-deaf Trump faced a comeuppance far short of tragedy after his party, but painful nonetheless: a blue wave in Tuesday’s elections. Revulsion at his imperial presidency swamped Republican candidates and causes.
This story is from the November 06, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
STORM TROOPERS
Trojans overcome poor start as Lemon and stingy defense keep playoff hopes intact
3 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Lebanon plans to file complaint over Israeli wall in its territory
UNIFIL says the construction violates a resolution ending Israel-Hezbollah war.
1 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Islamic State-backed rebels kill 17 in attack on eastern Congo hospital
An Islamic State-backed rebel group killed at least 17 people in an attack on a hospital in eastern Congo, authorities said Saturday.
1 min
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Hungary will challenge EU over the phasing out of Russian energy
Hungary will challenge the European Union's plan to end Russian energy imports and take the case to an EU court, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday.
1 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Brother is seeking help with living trust. How to respond?
Dear Liz: My older brother and his wife recently told me they made me the executor of their living trust.
3 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Rural areas fight AT&T's effort to drop landlines
Carrier is pushing to cut copper service. But remote enclaves say it's their lifeline.
8 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Iamaleava concussed, sits out against Buckeyes
All those hits finally caught up with Nico Iamaleava.
2 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
UC students want bigger say on Board of Regents
The University of California serves 300,000 students, yet only one of the two students on the 26-member Board of Regents is allowed to vote. Now student leaders are campaigning for a second vote, saying it would better ensure that UC policy reflects all students.
6 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Ex-Newsom aide's indictment prompts scrutiny
Becerra, have agreed to plead guilty to related charges.
6 mins
November 16, 2025
Los Angeles Times
THIS YEAR MAKE A MEXICAN-INSPIRED THANKSGIVING FEAST
Every year on Thanksgiving, I can count on my mother to tell the story of her first year living in Tijuana, when my dad, who was born in Mexico City, said to her: “Mami, I want you to make a traditional American Thanksgiving feast so we can show our friends here how your people celebrate.”
11 mins
November 16, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size