FDR also had a 'Winter White House' — for treating kids with polio


The Trump administration has dubbed Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House," a sunny respite from the dreary swamp of Washington. President Trump owns the resort, and his frequent visits have come under fire for their cost to taxpayers, potential for conflicts of interest, and comparative lack of transparency.
Still, as historian Joshua Zeitz documents at Politico, Trump is not the first president to have a private escape:
Ulysses S. Grant frequented Long Branch, New Jersey, where his family kept a summer cottage. Woodrow Wilson also preferred the Jersey Shore; his staff worked out of an office building in Asbury Park during many of the summer months. Harry Truman traveled often to Key West, where a modest naval officer's home served as his "Little White House." Teddy Roosevelt had Sagamore Hill; John Kennedy, his family's compounds in Palm Beach and Hyannis Port; and Ronald Reagan, his California ranch. [Politico]
Perhaps the most comparable presidential retreat, however, belonged to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who owned and often visited a luxury resort in Warm Springs, Georgia. But there was one big difference between the Warm Springs facility and Mar-a-Lago: "FDR built his club to care for people stricken by polio — many of them poor, and most of them children."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The hotel and its sprawling grounds were a resort and care facility at once, and FDR, also a polio victim, raised money or personally picked up the tab for polio patients who could not afford the $42 weekly rate (equivalent to about $600 today).
Roosevelt eventually sold the resort to a foundation he created, "thus replenishing FDR's personal fortune," but he continued to stump for donations after the sale.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US