Now Trump wants to build a new Camp David … at one of his private golf clubs
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President Trump wants to build a Camp David-style presidential retreat at his West Palm Beach golf club, according to reports.
The plan would see a portion of the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach designated as a U.S. Presidential Golf Course to be used by past, present and future commanders-in-chief. Foreign leaders would also be hosted at the site, The Palm Beach Post revealed.
“Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Élysée Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” a letter from the golf course’s lawyer Harvey Oyer and obtained by the newspaper said. The letter was sent to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners in September.
The West Palm Beach course opened back in 1999 and was the first golf property operated by Trump.
Oyer’s letter claimed Trump International would pay for the cost of building a lodging facility at the site. The lodging would be designed with the cooperation of the General Services Administration and the Secret Service.
“This is a gift that the president would like to share with his successors, the people of America, and his fellow Palm Beach County residents,” Oyer wrote, noting that Trump will be out of office before the completion of the project.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Oyer said that a name for the proposed golf course had not yet been chosen.
Currently, a president seeking a getaway has access to Camp David – a 125-acre retreat in the Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland.
The site, which has been used to host both cabinet meetings and meetings with foreign heads of government, is around 60 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.
The heavily fortified retreat’s official name is Naval Support Facility Thurmont and it is owned by the Department of Defense.
A White House source with knowledge of the plan toldThe Washington Post the West Palm Beach site has the security features needed for a presidential retreat.
“The property is minutes away from the Donald J. Trump International Airport, does not have buildings looming, does not have houses along the course, has great security features, is close to law enforcement, and happens to be a highly-rated golf course,” the official said. “These are features necessary for any presidential retreat.”
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which once belonged to Marjorie Merriweather Post, was willedto the National Park Service in the 1970s in the hope it would be used for state visits.
But the property was later returned to her foundation due to the cost of maintaining and securing the property.
Trump acquired the site in the 1980s, transforming it into his famous beach club.
A proposed ownership scheme of the presidential golf course is set out in Oyer’s letter, in the form of a deal in which Trump “grants” to the county the “legal right to the specified land necessary,” according to The Palm Beach Post.
After that, the county would “enter into a lease agreement with the appropriate federal government agency.”
Joseph Abruzzo, the Palm Beach County Administrator, told The Palm Beach Post the county wants to know more about the proposal but that it is under consideration.
“I look forward to working under the direction of our Board of County Commissioners as we explore this historic opportunity, and to working with President Trump and his team, our professional staff and the appropriate federal agencies on what it could mean for Palm Beach County,” Abruzzo said in a statement to the outlet.
The Independent has contacted Palm Beach County and the Trump Organization for comment.
