WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was partial to the Camp David movie theater. George W. Bush was a fan of the cooks’ fried chicken. Bill Clinton made it a family tradition to spend Thanksgiving at the presidential retreat.
Offering seclusion in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland that is not afforded at the White House, President Joe Biden has also turned to the government-owned facility, which has a movie theater, arcade, chapel, fitness center, skeet shooting range, tennis courts and a swimming pool, for respite and relaxation like many of his predecessors.
“The whole family, including the grandkids, really enjoy it,” said Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden. “They feel like they have privacy there.”
Unlike the first family’s Delaware homes, Camp David is a short helicopter ride away from Washington. The Bidens usually bring their dog, Commander, and cat, Willow, with them to the getaway spot. Willow once had to be fetched by Secret Service after she went from lounging by the pool, not too far from the president, who was engrossed at the time in a briefing book, to wandering Camp David’s surrounding woods.
This Friday, the president will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to the property, bringing back a dormant tradition of hosting foreign dignitaries at the isolated country residence of U.S. presidents that is roughly 70 miles from the White House.
“There’s a difference between going to the White House and the formalities, or a private estate, versus bringing someone into your family at Camp David,” said Michael Giorgione, who was the commander of Camp David under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. “And to me, it says a lot to world leaders. I would feel more special being brought to Camp David.”
What is Camp David used for?
The last time the property was opened up to heads of state was in 2015, when Barack Obama convened Gulf Cooperation Council nations. A gathering of Group of Seven leaders at Camp David during Trump’s final year in office was canceled amid the pandemic.
The cabins at Camp David famously housed secret negotiations in 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, producing a landmark peace agreement framework known as the Camp David Accords. Clinton also held talks there in 2000 with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat that failed to yield the same result.
“Camp David, as you know, has been a historic setting for summit meetings and for significant foreign policy conversations throughout the history of its existence,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters last week. “And the president’s looking forward to hosting both of these leaders, Prime Minister Kishida and President Yoon, at Camp David for what we believe is a discussion of historic proportions.”
White House officials said ahead of the summit that the leaders would announce a crisis hotline that the three countries will pledge to create and use to consult one another during moments of uncertainty that affect the security of any one of the nations.
The gathering will be symbolic, if little else is achieved.
“Our heightened engagement is part of our broader efforts to revitalize, to strengthen, to knit together our alliances and partnerships – and in this case, to help realize a shared vision of an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, prosperous, secure, resilient, and connected,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference this week.
Biden’s summit may not have the historical importance of Carter’s or Clinton’s, although it is expected to be the start of a more formalized relationship between the United States and the two countries with strained relations that have sought to forge closer cooperation in the face of North Korea’s provocations and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The relationship with Japan and South Korea is at the core of U.S. foreign policy and the nation’s economic competition with China.
How did Camp David get its name?
Camp David was constructed as a retreat for government employees. It was christened “Shangri-La” by Franklin D. Roosevelt and renamed Camp David by Dwight D. Eisenhower after his grandson.
Presidents have used the cozy retreat for a variety of purposes over the years: Richard Nixon entertained Bob Hope and George H.W. Bush played tennis with champion Chris Evert there.
There’s an “auroa” to the mountaintop, said Giorgione, who authored “Inside Camp David: The Private World of the Presidential Retreat” and commanded the naval support facility in Thurmont. “It’s casual, open collars, there’s no press, unless press is invited,” Giorgione…
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