President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he wants to develop one of his Florida golf courses into a presidential retreat where his successors can spend quiet weekends on the greens, describing it as “sort of a Camp David ” that he says would already have many of the security features needed to host presidents and world leaders.
In a letter to Palm Beach County commissioners last month, first reported by the Palm Beach Post, an attorney who represents the golf course said Trump is offering to designate it as a “US Presidential Golf Course. “It seems that all presidents play golf. Trump was playing at the Trump International Golf Club during a break from the campaign trail when a Secret Service agent spotted an armed man in the trees lining the club’s perimeter fence. The man was arrested after a chase and later convicted of trying to kill Trump, and was sentenced to life in prison. The Trump Organization owns the golf club but leases the land from the county, which would need to approve any changes. Under the proposal, the club would pay to build a new presidential lodging and then work with the Secret Service and other agencies to provide free access to the federal government.
He did not mention that the golf course was the site of an unsuccessful attempt on his life in 2024. The retreat would have a separate entrance from the private club, which earned Trump nearly $37 million during his first year back in office, according to his financial disclosure.
“It’s a great idea, and it’ll be used a lot,” Trump said, claiming it was suggested by the United States Secret Service. “Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Elysée Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” Harvey Oyer said in the letter. Oyer’s letter said the West Palm Beach golf course could be used by current and former presidents, along with visiting foreign heads of state.
