{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-donald-trump-is-distracted-with-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-peoples-lives", "Schatz: Donald Trump Is Distracted With Things That Have Nothing To Do With People\u2019s Lives", "2026-06-18", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Brian Schatz", "S001194", "www.schatz.senate.gov", "schatz", "https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i) spoke today on the Senate floor about President Donald Trump\u2019s preoccupation with building monuments and hosting sporting events while Americans across the country struggle to make ends meet amid rising prices.\n\n\u201c$600 million to build a ballroom at the White House. $100 million to build a triumphal arch. $250 million to renovate the Kennedy Center. And $60 million to host a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House. These are the things Donald Trump is putting his time and energy into right now, along with a whole lot of taxpayer money,\u201d said Senator Schatz.\n\nSenator Schatz continued, \u201cPeople all across the country are eating less and driving less and saving less and seeing the doctor less because of his actions. Wars, tariffs, tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by cutting working people\u2019s health care. And yet, all he can think about is where his next military adventure might be or what new monument he can build himself.\u201d\n\nSenator Schatz\u2019s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below. Video is available here.\n\n$600 million to build a ballroom at the White House. $100 million to build a triumphal arch. $250 million to renovate the Kennedy Center. And $60 million to host a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House. These are the things Donald Trump is putting his time and energy into right now, along with a whole lot of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, gas is more than 4 bucks a gallon nationally and $5.58 in Hawai\u2018i. Grocery prices keep going up. Electricity bills are through the roof. Millions of Americans don\u2019t have health insurance this year. And rents and mortgages are impossible to keep up with.\n\nThis is not a question of whether you like sports or monuments. I like sports. I think the capital city of the most powerful nation in the history of the world should be beautiful and modern and vibrant. But this is not that. This is a president who is so thoroughly distracted with his own personal pet projects that he has no time to do anything to lower prices and fix people\u2019s actual problems. It\u2019s not like these are events that have overtaken his agenda \u2013 this is his agenda. These are his initiatives that he came up with.\n\nIt\u2019s plainly obvious that the Donald Trump is distracted with things that have nothing to do with regular people\u2019s lives. But you don\u2019t have to take my word for it. Last week, after inflation reached the highest level in 3 years, he said, \u201cI love the inflation.\u201d And a few weeks ago, as a war of his own making was ravaging people\u2019s paychecks, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situation.\u201d I don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situation. This is not me making a partisan accusation \u2013 those are his words!\n\nPeople all across the country are eating less and driving less and saving less and seeing the doctor less because of his actions. Wars, tariffs, tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by cutting working people\u2019s health care. And yet, all he can think about is where his next military adventure might be or what new monument he can build himself.\n\nIt\u2019s not hard to imagine a focused, energetic president who exerts his authority to make people\u2019s lives better, easier, more affordable, more fulfilling. And in the past, even when we didn\u2019t agree with a president from the other party on solutions, we at least agreed on the problems. But not with Donald Trump. The problem was never that the Kennedy Center was too woke. The problem was never that gas was too cheap. No one woke up thinking, gee, I wish we were involved in more wars. Or man, we really ought to be throwing bigger parties for the president\u2019s birthday.\n\nNo one asked for this. No one wants this. But we have a president who is at the end of his political career, with nothing to lose electorally. And all he can think about is himself and his legacy \u2013 not you.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-24T06:25:30Z", "2026-06-24T06:26:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-donald-trump-is-distracted-with-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-peoples-lives"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.710061052814126, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}