President Donald Trump chose simple over swanky this weekend.
Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump flew for the first time Saturday to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded hideaway used by many presidents for a break from Washington.
Few expect the luxury-loving leader to make this a regular thing. After all, Trump told foreign newspapers earlier this year that Camp David was “very rustic” and “you know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.”
Trump’s wife, Melania; their son, Barron, and the first lady’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, joined the president for the overnight at Camp David. Trump was scheduled to return to the White House on Sunday.
Presidents have been going to the refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades, and not always just for a rest. Franklin D. Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill there in 1943, reviewing plans for the invasion of Normandy. Jimmy Carter used it for peace talks between Egypt and Israel. George H.W. Bush’s daughter Dorothy, or “Doro,” got married there.
“Everything that a president needs in the White House is built in there,” says Anita McBride, who was first lady Laura Bush’s chief of staff. “You have military support. You have a place to house your staff if you chose to use it. It is immediately available. … Within 20 minutes you can be there.”
A short drive from the town of Thurmont, Maryland, Camp David covers more than 125 acres, with a cabin for the president and about a dozen cabins for guests. Guests can use tennis courts, a heated swimming pool, a bowling alley and a movie theater. For the golf-loving Trump, there is a single golf hole with multiple tees.