WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly endorsed a proposal to turn part of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach into a Camp David-style presidential retreat for future presidents and visiting world leaders.
“It’s a great idea, and it’ll be used a lot,” Trump said at the White House. “This wouldn’t be for me. This would be for all future presidents.”
Trump said the military and U.S. Secret Service suggested the idea, citing the course’s lack of nearby homes and high-rise buildings, along with its proximity to the airport. Neither agency has publicly confirmed that it recommended the project.
The course was also the site of a 2024 attempted assassination of Trump. Prosecutors said Ryan Wesley Routh hid along the perimeter near the sixth hole with a rifle while Trump was golfing. A Secret Service agent spotted the weapon through the fence line and fired; Routh fled before he was later arrested in Martin County. Routh was convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison. The case highlighted the security challenges around the course, including its perimeter near public roads.
Trump said Wednesday the lack of homes and high-rise buildings around the property would make it easier to secure. “They can get maximum safety,” he said.
“It’s only about two minutes away from the airport,” Trump said. “They could spend the weekend there, like a retreat — like sort of a Camp David retreat.”
The comments came weeks after Trump International Golf Club attorney Harvey Oyer III asked Palm Beach County commissioners to consider designating the club as the permanent U.S. Presidential Golf Course.
The proposal calls for the club to provide its facilities at no cost to the federal government and work with the General Services Administration and Secret Service on a dedicated presidential lodging facility. The club would pay construction costs, according to Oyer’s letter.
Oyer’s Sept. 3 letter asks commissioners to designate Trump International as the “permanent United States Presidential Golf Course,” available to past, current and future presidents of either party, along with visiting foreign heads of state at the White House’s discretion.
The letter says the club would make its courses, amenities and facilities available to the federal government at no cost. Trump International would work with the General Services Administration and Secret Service to design a presidential lodging facility and pay to build it.
Oyer proposed a structure intended to leave Palm Beach County in control of the site. Under that plan, the club would grant the county legal rights to the land needed for the lodging and support buildings; the county would then lease it to the appropriate federal agency. If the agency later defaulted or stopped using the retreat, the county would retain control of the asset.
The letter also points to the property’s proximity to the airport, existing security infrastructure, South Florida weather and FAA restrictions on other possible uses of the land. Oyer wrote that visits by presidents and foreign heads of state could have “an enormous positive impact” on the local economy.
Oyer compared the proposal with past gifts of presidential property for public use, citing Dwight Eisenhower’s Gettysburg Farm, Franklin Roosevelt’s Hyde Park estate and Marjorie Merriweather Post’s unsuccessful effort to leave Mar-a-Lago to the federal government as a “Winter White House.”
Harvey Oyer III letter to Palm Beach County commissionersPDF previewPreview PDF
Read Harvey Oyer’s full Sept. 3 letter to Palm Beach County commissioners outlining the proposal:
Trump International Golf Club sits on county-owned land leased to the club. Under the proposed arrangement, the club would grant the county rights to the portion needed for the lodging facility and related structures. The county could then lease that land to the federal government while retaining its role as landlord.
The county would keep control of the property if the federal government stopped using the facility or defaulted on a lease, according to the proposal.
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Palm Beach County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo previously called the plan a potentially “remarkable and historic opportunity” and said the county was eager to explore the details.
In a statement to CBS12 News, Abruzzo said, “Palm Beach County is uniquely positioned for this historic opportunity. The golf course is located on County-owned land, immediately adjacent to our international airport, with significant security infrastructure already in place. President Trump’s willingness to make this significant private investment and create a Presidential institution intended to serve his successors and our country for generations is an extraordinary act of generosity and vision.
“This likely would further cement Palm Beach County’s place on the national and international stage for generations to come. 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.”
But commissioners still must decide whether to support the land arrangement. Commissioner Joel Flores has said he wants assurances that Palm Beach County taxpayers would not bear costs for the project and raised questions about possible effects on airport operations. Commissioner Gregg Weiss has said he wants additional details about logistics and any lease changes before moving forward.
A White House official said Wednesday that the federal government has been asked to look into developing a presidential retreat at the course so future presidents can hold meetings and use the property’s amenities.
The proposal remains in its early stages. No county vote, federal agreement, construction timeline, or public cost estimate has been announced.