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What is Camp David? -

Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It is known formally as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont.

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Camp David amenities -

The retreat comprises 18 cabins and lodges. Guests can go bowling, watch movies, work out at the fitness center, play basketball, and shoot pool. There are also tennis courts, horseshoe pits, a swimming pool, a skeet range, and other activity options.

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Where is Camp David? -

The residence is located in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland. Pictured is an aviation chart showing restricted airspace in the Washington, D.C. area. Camp David is the light circle to the north.

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"Shangri-La" -

Camp David was originally built as a retreat for federal government agents and their families. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La." The rustic complex provided an opportunity for solitude and tranquility, as well as an ideal place to work and host foreign leaders and dignitaries.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt -

FDR is pictured at "Shangri-La" in August 1942 at dinner with his secretary, Grace Tully, and other guests. Note the wheelchair to the left of the picture. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921 and subsequently paralyzed from the waist down. He relied on a wheelchair and leg braces for mobility.

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Harry S. Truman -

One US president who wasn't taken with Camp David was Harry S. Truman. He thought the presidential retreat was unnecessary, and only visited 10 times. He's pictured in his preferred place of work, the White House.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower -

During his time in office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the institution Camp David in honor of his father and grandson, both named David. Eisenhower made 45 visits to the retreat during his presidency. Among the political leaders he hosted was Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, in 1959.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower -

But it was not all work. Eisenhower used the isolation of Camp David to relax and indulge in his passion for painting.

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John F. Kennedy -

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy hosted his predecessor at Camp David during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. This photograph of Kennedy and Eisenhower walking in the grounds won photographer Paul Vathis a Pulitzer Prize.

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Lyndon B. Johnson -

President Lyndon B. Johnson made 30 visits to Camp David during his time in office. This photograph was taken on April 10, 1968, and shows the president meeting military and political advisers during a conference on the situation in Vietnam. Johnson had chosen not to attend the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., held the previous day, in order to concentrate his efforts on securing peace in the war-torn nation.

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Richard Nixon -

President Richard Nixon made frequent sojourns to Catoctin Mountain Park and the sanctuary of Camp David. In fact, he's known to have stayed at the retreat on 160 separate occasions. Nixon is pictured in December 1971 studying documents.

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Richard Nixon -

Despite Lyndon B. Johnson's efforts to win peace in Vietnam, the war was still raging in 1972 when Nixon traveled to Camp David in November of that year with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Major General Alexander Haig Jr. to try and find ways of ending hostilities.

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Richard Nixon -

In June 1973, President Nixon hosted the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev at Camp David. The talks led to the Washington Summit that took place over June 18–25 and the signing of the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War.

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Gerald Ford -

President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford are pictured in October 1974 enjoying some downtime at the presidential retreat. In fact, Mrs. Ford had been recuperating from surgery for breast cancer.

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Gerald Ford -

President Ford made 29 visits to Camp David and often made full use of the retreat's leisure facilities, including the outdoor pool. The president is pictured taking a dip with his dog, Liberty.

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Jimmy Carter -

The secret summit hosted by President Jimmy Carter at Camp David from September 5–17, 1978, which brought together Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, is regarded as the most notable event in the camp's history and resulted in what are now known as the Camp David Accords.

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Jimmy Carter -

But not all of the 99 visits Carter made to the retreat during his time in the White House were quite so tense and dramatic. Here, the president is seen with his daughter Amy and grandson Jason James, at Amy's treehouse on the Camp David grounds.

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Ronald Reagan -

A leisurely attired President Ronald Reagan, replete in cowboy boots, is pictured in February 1981, working at Aspen Lodge at Camp David.

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Ronald Reagan -

An accomplished horseman, Reagan was often pictured riding through the Camp David grounds, and even persuaded VIP guests to join him in the saddle. He's seen here with Mexican President José López Portillo taking a break from their talks in June 1981.

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George H.W. Bush -

In June 1990, George H.W. Bush hosted Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for talks at Camp David, a series of meetings that led to the historic Washington Summit of May 30–June 3, 1990. The so-called "Two Plus Four" talks saw the United States and Germany gaining the Soviet Union's support for the reunification of Germany. Between sessions, Gorbachev found time to pilot a golf cart, the first time he had driven such a vehicle.

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George H.W. Bush -

Pictured: the Bushes and Gorbachevs, and others, pose for a group photo at Camp David. From left, US Secretary of State James Baker, First Lady Barbara Bush, US President George H.W. Bush, Soviet First Lady Raisa Gorbachev, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, US National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and Soviet Marshal Sergei Akhromeyev.

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Bill Clinton -

President Bill Clinton invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Maryland for the 2000 Camp David Summit in an effort to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The talks took place from July 11–25.

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Bill Clinton -

Despite intense diplomatic efforts, Clinton was unable to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, largely due to irreconcilable differences between Israelis and Palestinians on the status of Jerusalem. Its failure is considered one of the main triggers of the Second Intifada.

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George W. Bush -

In September 2003, President George W. Bush hosted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at Camp David. The two called on Iran and North Korea to abandon their suspected nuclear weapons ambitions, and pledged to work together on Iraq's reconstruction despite differences over the US-led war. During a press conference, Bush remarked: "In recent years, the United States and Russia have made great progress in building a new relationship. Today, our relationship is broad and it is strong."

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George W. Bush -

After undergoing a colorectal screening procedure at Camp David in June 2002, Bush engaged in a 4-mile (6-km) walk through the estate's wooded grounds with his wife Laura Bush, brother Marvin Bush, and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and his wife, Kathleene.

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Barack Obama -

The 38th G8 Summit was held at Camp David on May 18–19, 2012. President Barack Obama is pictured outside the Laurel Lodge waiting to greet G8 leaders. One name absent from the guest list was Vladimir Putin, who cited domestic obligations as his reason for not attending, though some interpreted the gesture as a sign of rising tensions between Putin's government and the West.

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Barack Obama -

The G8 Summit was noted for its generally relaxed and casual atmosphere. On one occasion, President Obama decided to have a unscheduled meeting with just the Eurozone leaders. He asked them to step outside on the Laurel cabin patio, where the leaders and their staff all pulled up chairs for the impromptu get-together.

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Barack Obama -

Following the conclusion of the G8 Summit, Barack Obama found time to unwind by playing a game of pool in the Holly cabin. The president's visits to Camp David, however, were relatively infrequent: he made just 39 trips to Maryland during the course of his time in office.

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Donald Trump -

President Donald Trump made 15 visits to Camp David during his time in the White House. But he was unenthusiastic about staying there, preferring to weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida or Bedminster club in New Jersey. In an interview with The Times of London and German newspaper Bild, Trump remarked: "Yeah, Camp David is very rustic, it's nice, you'd like it. You know how long you'd like it? For about 30 minutes."

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Donald Trump -

President Trump characterized his trips to the rustic retreat as "working weekends," according to CNN. He's seen here on August 27, 2017, leading a video teleconference monitoring tropical storm conditions and damage assessments in southeastern Texas.

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Joe Biden -

President Joe Biden, who has so far made the trip to Maryland 34 times, hosted the leaders of Japan and the Republic of Korea for a trilateral summit at Camp David on August 18, 2023.

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Joe Biden -

Biden, together with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, later conducted a joint press conference announcing the inauguration of a new era of trilateral partnership and cooperation between the three nations.

Sources: (The White House) (Smithsonian Magazine) (National Security Archive) (CNN) (USA Today) (History Daily) 

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