Revealed – Trump Reportedly spent $3.4M in taxpayer money on ‘Great Gatsby’ Halloween party

On Halloween, Oct. 31, 2025, a claim (archived) began circulating online that U.S. President Donald Trump spent $3.4 million in taxpayer funds on a “Great Gatsby”-themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

The claim circulated as a month-long government shutdown over budget disagreements meant that some 42 million Americans could lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps. SNAP benefits help seniors, people with disabilities and families purchase household food staples.

The reported party drew criticism for its alleged theme (archived, archived). “The Great Gatsby,” a 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, follows a self-made millionaire in the affluent, fictional society of West Egg, New York, in his pursuit of a woman he loved in his youth. The novel has been adapted in movies several times, all of which lean into the glitz and glamour of the Jazz Age parties hosted by the protagonist Jay Gatsby in the story.

One X user posted an image of Trump with the caption, “BREAKING: It turns out Trump blew $3.4 MILLION of taxpayer money on a lavish Great Gatsby-themed Mar-a-Lago party while 700,000 Americans go UNPAID his shutdown. Disgraceful.”

The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers also wrote in, asking if the claim was true.

Trump did host a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Oct. 31, 2025. White House correspondents from Agence-France Presse and NewsNation (archived, archived) reported that the theme was “The Great Gatsby” and “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody,” which appeared to be a reference to a song in the 2013 “The Great Gatsby” movie’s soundtrack.

While the cost of Trump’s transportation to and from the party in West Palm Beach, Florida, would have been covered by taxpayer-funded government departments, it was unclear whether taxpayer funds had contributed to the party itself. Therefore, we have left this claim unrated.