President Trump is right to want to end America’s military involvement in Afghanistan. It’s gone on way too long at much too high a price and with very little to show for it. And he’s right when he says that in order to end the war there, we have to talk to some pretty awful people. Only with one’s enemies are negotiations for peace necessary.
That said, he seems to have seriously miscalculated the timing and location for what he hoped would be a grand history-making television extravaganza in which he would star. To sit down with the people who are responsible for the worst terrorist attack ever on our country a few days before the 18th anniversary of that terrible day was rather tone-deaf, to say the least. But adding insult to injury, Trump wanted to do this at one of the crown jewels of the American presidency, Camp David.
Admittedly, some presidents have held negotiations with bad actors at the storied presidential retreat. Dwight Eisenhower hosted Nikita Khrushchev. Bill Clinton hosted Yasser Arafat. But those are the exceptions. And even those historic events made many nervous. After all, Camp David is a military installation — technically known as Naval Support Facility, Thurmont (Md.) — which, among other things, is an emergency relocation facility for the president.
In the Reagan administration, it was considered sacred territory, with only the closest allies extended the honor of an invitation to visit. Those were very infrequent, and included British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and Mexican President José López Portillo. For the most part, the Reagans used Camp David for its intended purpose: a place where they could unwind, exhale, and just be. They kept their entourage to an absolute minimum. Family members, Cabinet secretaries, and senior White House aides were only occasionally asked to join the first couple there.
Weather permitting, at Camp David the president and Mrs. Reagan swam in the pool at their cabin, rode horses, and took long walks along the nature trails so carefully maintained by the U.S. Navy. It was not all relaxation, however. Reagan would often use the quiet time there to read briefing books about upcoming foreign trips, and write major speeches. That was during the day. In evenings, after dinner the Reagans enjoyed their favorite part of being at Camp David — watching movies in their living room. Every Friday and Saturday night, joined by a very few aides, they would screen whatever was popular at the box office, as well as an occasional “Golden Oldie” from their era of movie-making. I was with them on most of those weekends, and never ceased to be struck by how happy they were to just be with each other, wearing casual clothes, out of the spotlight for a while, and how much they really liked watching those movies!
Reagan often wrote fondly about Camp David in his private diary. In interviews after he left office, when asked what he missed most about the presidency, he would not mention the grandeur of the White House or Air Force One. Reagan would instead say that what he missed most was the people, but then he always quickly added, “and being at Camp David.” Like the ranch, it was the Reagans’ “happy place.”
Other presidents have used Camp David to gather family and friends, for senior staff conferences, congressional meetings, and even a family wedding. Yet some first families have not found the mountaintop retreat conducive to their lifestyle. Understandably, the Obamas did not visit very often, probably because their daughters had social lives that would have been seriously affected by the isolation of the Catoctin Mountains.
Trump rose to national fame as a reality TV star and is rightly credited with having an uncanny sense of the dramatic, as well as an appreciation for optics. It is a surprising misstep for him to plan to host the Taliban and Afghanistan government representatives at Camp David.
Although it’s the president’s prerogative to use Camp David as he wishes, one is tempted to wonder why Trump did not invite the Taliban and Afghanistan government representatives to the Trump National Doral in Miami instead. After all, it has bungalows that each delegation could have used, and it is close to the airport. Maybe he was worried about a hurricane.
Mark Weinberg served as special assistant to the president and assistant press secretary in the Reagan White House, and director of Public Affairs in the Office of former President Ronald Reagan. He is the author of the best-selling memoir, Movie Nights with the Reagans (Simon & Schuster).
