by Don Keelan

The Naval Support Facility in Thurmont, Maryland, more commonly known as Camp David, does not appear to be getting the same level of use it once did.

Nestled deep in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, the 150-acre, 83-year-old presidential retreat has been an invaluable getaway for the past 15 presidents, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt in July of 1942. FDR, a nautical enthusiast, gave the name U.S.S. Shangri-La to the former government employee’s family recreation site, then known as High Catoctin Camp #3. 

There is one president who does not appear to feel that Camp David is the place to retreat to, and that is President Trump. More on that in a moment.

Today, Camp David is not the rustic, rundown place that FDR took over during the darkest hours of WWII. He authorized that no more than $10,000 be spent to make the camp livable for guests, staff, Secret Service agents, and military personnel.   The final cost was $18,000. Since then, millions of dollars have been spent upgrading its infrastructure, staff, and guest housing, recreation, and security. It is also home to over 200 Marines, Navy personnel, and other personnel who reside there or nearby on a permanent basis.

So why sell this historic, secluded, and highly protected property only 65 miles from Washington, D.C.? The simple response: it is not being used by President Trump. He has only made one visit during the first year of his second term. He used the camp on 15 occasions during his first term. Only President Truman used the retreat less: ten visits from April 1945 until January 1953.

President Truman seeks respite in Key West, Fla., and at one time thought of closing Shangri-La.   Mar-a-Lago, the 1924 restored estate of heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, has been President Trump’s place to go to since 1985. It is rumored to be opulent with gold plumbing fixtures throughout. While other Republican presidents had their own escape places, notably ranches in California and Texas, Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush found Camp David appealing, having visited the compound on 189 and 150 occasions, respectively.

There would be considerable pushback against proposing the sale of this historic property, and justifiably so. However, the annual cost of maintaining the Camp and its personnel is in the tens of millions of dollars. 

The Camp’s history runs deep, beginning with several visits to Shangri-La in 1942/43 by Winston Churchill, to plan, along with FDR, the Allied invasion of France. 

Fifteen years later and four years after he took advantage of Camp David to convalesce from his heart attack, President Eisenhower met in September 1959 with Nikita Khrushchev, the head of the Soviet Union, and the Camp David Accords were achieved.

Camp David was in the minds of many in September 1978, when, after days and nights of negotiating, President Jimmy Carter had Egypt’s President, Anwar Sadat, shake hands with Israel’s Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. 

It is difficult to comprehend today in light of the past four years in Ukraine, but President G.W. Bush, in 2003, entertained Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the mountain retreat.

With all its modern amenities, privacy, location, accessibility, and security, the Camp David of today, if privatized, could make a welcoming corporate retreat. But that is not really what should be considered. Instead, how to get President Trump to rethink his use of the place. 

One suggestion is for the government to consider upgrading the Camp’s plumbing. In doing so, they may wish to make an offer on Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-carat gold workable bathroom fixture. The 1,680 oz. pure gold sculptured fixture even has a title, a patriotic one, “America.” It also has a hefty price. 

This rare piece of plumbing was acquired in early November in New York City for $12.1 million. To any homeowner, this price tag for a bathroom fixture may seem outrageous, but when the potential purchaser has an annual budget in the trillions, what difference does a few million make?

FDR’s Shangri-La must not be sold. If the lack of use is due to the plumbing fixtures, redesign the camp’s plumbing with American Standard fixtures. They are well-built, and the brand name is patriotic.