Priorities
Only 991 days to go...
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
I’ve always been perplexed as to why some of the more vulnerable people in our society have continued to support a greedy, corrupt, entitled, and incompetent nepo-baby as president. Trump hosts his events at his faux-gold club in Palm Beach for his members only. Probably, the only average American Joe, who has ever set foot in his tacky club, is one of the cleaning crew or wait staff.
Since January 20, 2025, Donald Trump has played golf 106 days, according to trackers like DidTrumpGolfToday.com and TrumpGolfTrack.com. This rate represents approximately 22%–24% of his presidency spent on the golf course. The vast majority (approximately 95%) of these rounds of golf were played at his own properties.
As of late 2025, during his second term, Donald Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago for golf have been estimated to cost taxpayers over $3 million per visit. These costs include Air Force One travel, Secret Service protection, and security, with total spending on golf-related travel estimated to have reached tens of millions of dollars within his first year back in office. Taxpayer funds are also used to pay for hotel rooms, food, and golf carts for security agents at Trump’s private properties. In other words, Trump’s trips to his properties are incredibly profitable for the Trump Organization, because rather than “comping” the rooms, the Trump Organization bills the US taxpayers.
Key Cost Details:
Trips to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida are estimated at roughly $3.4 million to $3.6 million each.
By November 2025, reports indicated taxpayers had spent nearly $71 million on golf-related travel since he returned to office in January 2025.
Expenses include operating Air Force One (estimated at over $142,000 per hour), transporting the motorcade, and high costs for the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
These figures are consistent with projections based on his first term (2017–2021), during which his frequent trips to Florida were estimated to cost taxpayers over $100 million.
So let’s assume an average golfer (who can’t afford to join a private club) plays a round of golf for 22% of the year. This would be around 80 rounds of golf. The average cost for a round at an 18-hole public golf course in the U.S. is approximately $50–$60 (though typical rates for everyday, non-premium, or municipal courses often range from $20 to $50. Costs vary significantly by location, ranging from under $30 in states like Maine to over $100 in high-cost states like Hawaii and Nevada.) But let’s assume an average Joe was to play 80 times at average public course, it would cost him around $4,000 - $4,800 per year. Somehow, I think it’s unlikely that average Joe, who can barely afford his inflation-spiked bag of groceries and tank of gas, can afford to spend nearly five grand a year playing golf.
My guess is that he can maybe afford one round of golf per month — that would be $600 for the year. And it would have to be on public course. (FYI, as comparison to be a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club requires a fair amount of upfront money. As of May 2026, the initiation fee for a new membership at the Mar-a-Lago Club is $1 million. Breakdown of costs beyond the initial buy-in, members are responsible for recurring annual dues of approximately $20,000 and an annual dining minimum of roughly $2,000. Trump International (West Palm Beach) Guest Fees: For non-members of the golf club specifically, guest fees are generally estimated at $150–$250+ per round, plus caddie tips. Although, many Mar-a-Lago members also hold a “Full Golf Membership” at the West Palm Beach club, which has its own initiation fee (reported at $350,000 in 2021) and annual dues of approximately $25,000.)
Did you see this little news item?
The National Park Service will begin landscaping and clearing trees at the East Potomac Golf Links on Monday, while the president develops a complete redesign, NOTUS reported.
“This news was a complete surprise to us. For the sake of our community and employees, we hope to have clarity as soon as possible. We remain committed to our mission, our community, and working to protect the public golf courses in Washington, D.C. for the benefit of the entire community.” (a spokesman for The National Links Trust, the most recent leaseholder of the golf course)
The overhaul would encompass the course as well as West Potomac Park, federally owned land along the National Mall now used for recreation, sports, and other public events. The garden would honor “hundreds of historically significant Americans,” according to the newly created National Garden of American Heroes Foundation, raising questions about how much of the land would remain accessible to the public.
The land grab is the latest example of Trump’s manhandling of publicly owned American landmarks, including his gaudy gold Oval Office makeover, tearing down the White House’s historic East Wing to replace it with a 90,000-square-foot ballroom (also gilded), and the blue resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (source: Trump Seizes D.C.’s Busiest Golf Course for His Latest Tacky Makeover)
Yes, just as summer begins and the average Joe living in DC may get to play his 1-2 rounds of golf, at the public East Potomac Golf Links, the course is now closed as of Sunday, following the final tee time. The Trump administration has now taken over the course to begin immediate maintenance and a major redesign.
How utterly emblematic this maneuver is by our Golfer-in-Chief.
I know for many folks, golf is obsession that they’re willing to pay for — but to me, it’s a luxury item - not a necessity. Many people in this country simply lack the resources to barely afford the basics like food, medical, child-care and housing expenses. Paying for a round of golf would be out the question.
According to Gallup, most Americans are pessimistic about 2026 - foreseeing rising taxes and prices. Cost-of-living concerns are the most dominant issue for Americans across all political backgrounds.
56%–59% of Americans expect high inflation to persist throughout 2026.
Significant price increases are being felt in groceries, gas, and especially electricity, which has nearly doubled in some states.
62% of adults report high concern over the price of housing, with many households struggling to afford rent or mortgage payments.
Healthcare has surged as a top concern, with 61% of Americans identifying its affordability as a “great deal” of concern in 2026.
Recent legislation (such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) has introduced deep cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), leading to doubled premiums for some plans.
Concerns about the long-term solvency of Social Security have reached a 15-year high, with 52% of Americans expressing significant worry.
Dissatisfaction with political leadership is a major stressor for the public.
54% of Americans cite government corruption as a top worry, and 89% anticipate continued political conflict throughout the year.
There is significant public focus on the Supreme Court’s role in shaping economic policy and civil rights, with concerns over potential changes to birthright citizenship and voting rights.
The job market is shifting from a “price growth” story to one of “income and job security” anxiety.
Unemployment has ticked up to roughly 4.4%–4.6%, and Americans report being afraid of job loss at levels not seen since the 2008 recession.
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence is raising fears of widespread job displacement and the potential for an “AI bubble” in the tech sector.
And let’s not forget, of course, that over 50,000 of our U.S. military personnel are away from their families stationed in the Middle East and engaged in an unauthorized conflict (i.e., war of choice) started by this Felon-in-Chief. Operation Epic Fury, is currently estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers between $890 million - $1.6 billion per day.
And yet, our President is concerned with golf courses…. and ballrooms, remodeling, pardoning criminals, enriching the Trump Organization, rebranding Washington DC, getting Jimmy Kimmel fired, and putting James Comey behind bars for posting seashell art on Instagram.
It all comes down to priorities. Sadly, the health, safety and prosperity of everyday Americans does not even make his list.
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
~ Søren Kierkegaard
Worth reading
The Last Days of Butter Ridge The Watsons were dairy farmers for generations, the rhythms of their lives defined by their cows. Until this spring.
The Watsons had been dairy farming since before the Civil War — one of dozens of Watson farms that had spread across northern Pennsylvania over the generations, and then, like dairy farms everywhere, gradually disappeared. The number of dairy farms in the United States had fallen to fewer than 25,000 from a peak of nearly 700,000 in the 1970s. Milk prices had barely risen in half a century, held down by overproduction and a handful of large corporations that dominated the dairy market. The costs of running a family farm had skyrocketed by as much as 500 percent.
Brad had supported Donald Trump in 2024 in part because Trump promised to change all that by becoming “the most pro-farmer president you’ve ever had.” Instead, new tariffs had cut into Brad’s potential export market and the emerging war in Iran had sent gas and fertilizer prices surging by as much as 70 percent. He was losing thousands of dollars each month and falling behind on his feed bill, until he made the call he’d been dreading his whole career. He dialed up an auction house to arrange the Watson family’s final dairy sale last month.
A federal judge will not order work to be stopped on the East Potomac Golf Course amid concerns over the future of one of D.C.’s most iconic golf courses. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes Monday comes after online news outlet NOTUS reported late last week the Trump administration had planned to close the golf course as early as Sunday, with plans to begin construction and tree clearing by Monday. That news prompted legal advocacy nonprofit Democracy Forward to file an emergency court order requesting a federal judge to halt any maintenance on the course by the Trump administration, claiming it’s “irreparably destroying a priceless piece of American history.”
These Couples Wanted to Have Children. Rising Costs Are Stopping Them.
After weighing all the costs, they decided not to have children at all.
“It’s just crazy right now,” Ms. S. said. “I have always told my husband, like, if we were rich, I would definitely have kids.”
Measles Surge in South Carolina Ends After Sickening Nearly 1,000
The outbreak, which began in October and became the largest since measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000, led to 21 hospitalizations. Some of those patients developed severe complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling. …Most of the cases were in Spartanburg County, where a close-knit, evangelical Slavic community bore the brunt of the cases and where childhood vaccination rates have been falling in recent years.
Trump’s Vision for ‘Garden of Heroes’ Keeps Getting Bigger and Higher in Cost
President Trump’s vision for his National Garden of American Heroes is growing larger and most likely more expensive than his initial estimates, with the latest plans calling for reflecting pools, dining facilities and an amphitheater alongside 250 life-size statues of notable Americans.
The plans have expanded to the point that they could require significant redevelopment of West Potomac Park, an area of mostly sports fields near the National Mall. The statues alone could cost more than the $40 million approved for the project by Congress, according to the Trump administration’s estimate.
(I find it rather surprising that Trump’s team considers TV gameshow host, Alex Trebeck, an “American Hero,” while Jane Addams — an actual Nobel Peace Prize winner — was excluded from the list. And while Amelia Earhart is listed, Jackie Cochran - the first woman pilot to win the Bendix trophy, the woman who led the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots and first woman to break the sound barrier is missing. John Wayne, but no Chuck Yaeger? A List of Everyone Who Could Be in Trump’s ‘Garden of Heroes’ — I wonder who made up this list???)