CHETTER DISPATCH – EDITION 0317 September 24, 2026 WELCOME TO TRUMP'S AMERICA: PLEASE WATCH YOUR WALLET Okay, somebody explain this to me. We have wars brewing around the globe. Diesel just blew through $6 a gallon and is now averaging about $6.51 nationally. Families are watching grocery and transportation costs climb. And what is happening in Washington? Apparently, we're building an arch. Not a little arch. A 250-foot Trumpian monument to something or other. And now we're being told it needs to be a military complex for drones and snipers. I'm sorry, but this is where my eyebrows leave my forehead. Because apparently the answer to America's security problems is: “Quick! Somebody get the blueprints for the giant arch!” This is the same administration that has already torn down the White House East Wing for a massive ballroom. The ballroom is roughly 90,000 square feet. The White House construction program has now ballooned to at least $900 million, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, with taxpayers expected to cover most of it. Then there's the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Yes, the Reflecting Pool. Because apparently even the water needed a Trump makeover. The Trump administration's contract for the pool rehabilitation has already reached about $16 million, according to the Joint Economic Committee Democratic minority. And let's not forget the gilded Oval Office. Gold everywhere. Gold trim. Gold furniture. Gold, gold, gold. At this point, I'm half expecting the White House to install a giant ATM that simply says: INSERT TAXPAYER. Now add it all up. The Joint Economic Committee Democratic minority estimates Trump's various Washington projects and related initiatives at more than $1.8 billion. That's billion. With a B. Their estimate includes the White House renovations, the Reflecting Pool, the proposed $100 million arch, Kennedy Center renovations, gold-plating projects, the Qatari aircraft retrofit and other projects. That's a partisan congressional estimate, not an official government total, but the underlying numbers are big enough that the argument deserves attention. And here's where the timing becomes almost obscene. Diesel is over six bucks. The federal government has enacted major reductions in projected Medicaid and SNAP spending. CBO estimates the legislation's changes to federal Medicaid and SNAP benefits will reduce household resources by roughly $1 trillion over the 2025 to 2034 period, primarily through lower federal benefit spending. Meanwhile, Washington is finding hundreds of millions of dollars for ballrooms, monuments, pools and renovations. Do you see why people get angry? I'm not saying the government shouldn't maintain the White House. I'm not saying historic buildings shouldn't be repaired. I'm not saying national security doesn't matter. I'm saying taxpayers deserve to know why the priority list looks like this. Because if you're the truck driver standing at the diesel pump watching $6.51 disappear into your tank, “We're building a 250-foot arch” probably doesn't feel like a solution to your problems. And when the justification suddenly becomes national security, the public deserves answers. Why does a monument need drones? Why does it need snipers? Why does it need ammunition storage? Why does a project originally presented as a grand 250th-anniversary arch suddenly need to become a military complex? Those aren't unreasonable questions. They're taxpayer questions. And here's my favorite part. The proposed arch is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe. Paris has one. Rome has monuments. Washington already has the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol, White House and countless other landmarks representing centuries of American history. Apparently, somebody looked at all that and thought: “You know what's missing? Something 250 feet tall.” Of course. Because subtlety apparently died somewhere between the gilding of the Oval Office and the demolition of the East Wing. And that's what bothers me most. Washington isn't a billionaire's backyard. It's the capital of the United States. Those monuments aren't presidential trophies. They're ours. The White House is ours. The National Mall is ours. The history is ours. And the bill? Well, increasingly, that's ours too. A president gets four years. The taxpayers get the invoice. So here's my question: What exactly are we building? A stronger America? Or a bigger monument to Donald Trump's ego? Because those are not necessarily the same thing. America needs secure borders, functioning infrastructure, affordable energy, affordable food, strong defenses, functioning government and a future people can actually afford. We don't need Washington turned into a presidential showroom. And we sure as hell don't need to be told that every golden ballroom, reflecting pool and 250-foot monument is somehow an emergency. Taxpayers aren't walking wallets. We're citizens. And citizens have every right to ask: Where is our money going, who authorized it, who benefits from it, and why the hell is this the priority? Until next time, Chetter @ChetterHub One voice. One dispatch. One message: SHAME ON A GOVERNMENT THAT CAN FIND MILLIONS FOR EGO PROJECTS BUT MAKES FAMILIES FIGHT FOR FOOD, HEALTHCARE AND DIGNITY.

Trump is promising $5,000 checks if Republicans win the midterms. At this point, a Trump promise should come with a tracking number. “Your $5,000 has shipped!” Delivery date: Never. Because apparently the only thing Trump delivers on time is another lie.

Trump has renamed the Gulf, wants America slapped onto lakes, and seems determined to rename the entire planet. At this rate, the moon is next. “Moon America.” Finally, a place where nobody can fact-check him.

Trump seems to have misplaced his Hispanic support. Now he’s wandering around Washington checking under the couch cushions, behind the curtains and probably asking, “Has anyone seen my voters?” Somewhere, the political equivalent of a lost-and-found desk is filling out a form.

MAGA: “Wait, Mr. President. We need to revisit the fine print. We thought the pain was for the libs. Turns out the consequences know our address.”

Trump: “Stop publishing lies.” Someone from the press whispers: “Okay. No more Trump quotes.” And suddenly the White House has discovered why freedom of the press is such a pain in the ass.

Trump TV: where the remote apparently comes with one button. Trump speaks, Trump wins, Trump is right. Any channel offering a different reality is apparently experiencing technical difficulties. At this point, just call it QVC for presidential ego.

Trump says the ballroom, the arch and banning the press are about “national security.” At this rate, I’m just waiting for: “The Epstein files? National security.” Apparently “national security” is becoming the duct tape for anything Trump doesn’t want us looking at.

Trump stood before the world at the United Nations and threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Ninety million people live there. Families. Children. Babies. There should be outrage around the globe.

Jesse Watters at a state dinner for China’s president. Another Fox host at the table. At this point, the Chinese delegation must be wondering if they accidentally walked into the Fox News Christmas party.

Bret Baier at the Trump-Xi state dinner. So, what’s the formula here? Be rich? Be on Fox? Be useful to Trump? At this point, I’m expecting the next invitation to arrive with three questions: How much are you worth? Who do you flatter? Can you bring a billionaire?

Jeff Bezos wasn't elected to anything. Yet there he is at a presidential state dinner, seated among the people who actually were. Apparently, the path to the head table no longer runs through the ballot box. Sometimes it runs through Amazon Prime.

James Talarico just challenged Ken Paxton to debate him on Fox News. His opponent’s safe space. His opponent’s rules. His opponent’s audience. James said, “Fine. I’ll come to you.” That’s not running from the lion’s den. That’s walking into it and asking where the podium is.

BREAKING - The White House must immediately restore temporary access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, a federal judge has ordered, saying that President Donald Trump’s directive barring the news outlets was most likely unconstitutional.

Donald Trump’s nephew offered a decades-old family anecdote to explain why he believes some of the media’s decision to dial back its coverage of the president, amid his escalating war on the press, may hit him where it hurts.

The President of the United States has an entire communications staff, a press secretary and every platform imaginable. And his rebuttal to a journalist is basically: “Liar. SLEAZEBAG. Sick. Treasonous. Demented.” Donald, did somebody take your favorite crayon?

WE DIDN’T HAVE TO BE HERE. Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Now, seven years later, Americans are in a war with Iran, paying the price at the pump and hearing about “momentum” toward a way out. This wasn’t fate. It was a choice.

This is the voice Washington should be listening to. A mother who voted for Trump because she believed federal agents were there to protect families like hers, now asking how “protect and serve” became “accuse and kill.” You can’t unhear that.