Trump's Trials - Trump wants to turn one of his Florida golf clubs into a Camp David-style retreat

Episode Date: October 8, 2026

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post politics editor, about his report of President Trump's proposed presidential golf retreat in South Florida.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. The president has both an ability and a willingness to use the power of his office, to think outside the box. Nobody makes a better deal than President Trump. We're going to do better and better and better. Nobody can believe what they're watching. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power.

Here's the latest from NPR. From NPR News, I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Michelle Martin. President Trump has plans to make one of his private golf clubs in Florida into a presidential retreat like Camp David. One of the Palm Beach Post staffers who broke the story's political editor Antonio Fins, and he's here with us now. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me on.

Thanks for coming. So what exactly is the president proposing? Well, just like you said, a sort of a Camp David-like retreat down here in South Florida, but really revolving around golf. He has this golf course Trump International just outside of West Palm Beach. And he is offering to locate this kind of presidential lodging retreat there where heads of state can come and do diplomacy on the golf course. How did you hear about this? Well, we got it through a letter that a lawyer representing the Trump organization sent to the county commission. The reason the county commission in Palm Beach County plays a role here is because we,

While the Trump Organization owns the golf club, the actual golf club and facilities, the land really is owned by the county and the Trump organization leases it from the county, so therefore the county has a say here and any kind of improvements. So who would pay for this? That's a good question. The letter explicitly says that this is a gift. But as we've seen down here with the Trump presidential library that required a donation of land to the Trump organization, land valued in downtown Miami, tens of millions of dollars.

We've seen the issue of the rebranding of Palm Beach International Airport as President Donald J. Trump International Airport. Taxpayers have been on the hook for that. So I think, you know, while this proposal was very well received by the county commission, I think everybody's looking for the fine print details. So why was it, just explains to me. So the plan involves a gift of Palm Beach County's land to the federal government. And then the Trump administration says, President Trump, Trump,

Trump says they will build it out, but... No, I don't think it's that complicated. I think it's more that what they're saying is on this land that we have leased from the county, we are going to locate this presidential retreat, this golf club, Camp David, facility on this land. And I think that we believe that the reason the county is involved is because they would have to approve the, you know, the improvements. movement, but that is land already leased to the Trump organization for the golf club. So I understand that as he has with other projects, the president cites security as a reason for this, just as he has with the White House ballroom, his plans for this arch in Washington, D.C.

But has he said anything about the potential for this to increase business at his golf club and his Mar-a-Lago resort? No, that's not been discussed at all. I think what they have pitched as-as is that this is a place, you know, Palm Beach County is kind of because of the Winter Wine House in Marlago and all the heads of state that have come to visit there. And, you know, a lot of the presidential actions that have taken place at Marlago. There's sort of in the county almost as this desire to see this going. And this would be a way of always having, you know, I guess this political, you know, this backdrop play out here in the Palm Beach. So that's really what's been the focus on.

We haven't, there's really been no details on who gets these revenues, how much money, who would pay for this. That's why everybody's sort of saying, okay, hey, nice idea, but or the fine print. That's Antonio Finns at the Palm Beach Post. He also hosts the Inside Florida Politics Podcast. Antonio, keep us posted. Thanks so much. Thank you. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day.

biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.