President Donald Trump wants to add a presidential retreat to his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his golf course there becoming the “permanent United States Presidential Golf Course.”
An attorney for the Trump International Golf Club proposed the designation and construction of a retreat on Trump’s dime in a letter to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, which has been obtained by NBC News.
“Just as Camp David, Windsor Palace or the Elysee Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” Harvey Oyer wrote in the letter last month, which was first reported by The Palm Beach Post.
The White House confirmed the proposal to The Washington Post on Wednesday. Trump, asked about the report in the Oval Office, told reporters that it had not been his idea but that he was on board.
“This was suggested to me by the military and Secret Service,” and it is “a great idea,” he said.
“They asked if I’d be willing to do it, and I said I would be,” he said.
“This wouldn’t be for me. This would be for all future presidents,” and it is “one of the best golf courses in the world,” Trump said.
Oyer’s letter asks the county, which owns the property the course is on, to give some of the land to the federal government for the project. The club would work with the government to design an “appropriate Presidential lodging facility” that the club would pay to construct.
A White House official said in a statement that the retreat could be used for presidents to “hold important meetings and utilize the amenities of a world-class property.”
“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 statement said. “These are features that are necessary for any Presidential retreat.”
Trump, a frequent golfer who used to mock his predecessor Barack Obama during the 2016 presidential campaign for hitting the links, said Wednesday that “it seems all presidents play golf” and that the new retreat would be “used a lot.”
Oyer’s letter said the facility could be used by “all past, current and future U.S. presidents regardless of party affiliation and all visiting heads of state, regardless of party affiliation.”
A reporter for Fox News asked Trump whether the retreat would be called “Camp Donald.”
“It’s already called Trump International,” he replied.
