Donald Trump has already had unprecedented success in profiting off the American presidency. Indeed, in the first year of his second term, the Republican pulled in at least $2.2 billion, including more than $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income, according to his latest annual financial disclosure.

No other president in American history has ever seen such financial gains while in office, and as a recent analysis from The New York Times explained, “Mr. Trump’s profits are a haul once unimaginable for any leader of a liberal democracy, particularly a sitting American president. No modern Western leader has ever publicly disclosed such big windfalls while in office. The Trump family’s earnings, experts said, have moved him into an echelon of enrichment more associated with strongmen in Russia and Turkey.”

There is, however, a looming problem for the incumbent president: He’s going to have to leave the White House in 836 days (but who’s counting), at which point Trump will no longer be able to profit off the office.

A new plan appears to be taking shape that would allow him to profit from future presidencies. The Washington Post reported that Trump wants to transform his West Palm Beach golf club into a presidential retreat modeled after Camp David.

The plan calls for a parcel of the private club to be designated a permanent, official sanctuary for foreign leaders and future U.S. presidents, designed to host international summits and house presidents when they take vacations in Florida, according to a proposal presented to Palm Beach County officials by Trump International Golf Club’s legal counsel. Future presidents would also be offered comped memberships to the Trump club.

“Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Elysee Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” Harvey Oyer, a lawyer representing the Trump course, wrote to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners in a letter last month.

If this isn’t obvious, this proposal goes well beyond simply extending invitations to future presidents to visit one of his golf properties. This is about creating an official, government-owned retreat to be used by Trump’s successors.

Why bother? Because, as the Post’s report noted, “Trump’s club would continue to operate under the Trump family company and would probably benefit from more business if it becomes a site of long-lasting presidential importance.”

In other words, as the incumbent president starts to obsess to an unhealthy degree about his legacy, this arrangement would offer a new opportunity for Trump both to make more money and to retain some political relevance.

On Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked the president about the plan, and he said, “This was suggested to me by the military and Secret Service. … They asked if I’d be willing to do it, and I said I would be.”

The rhetoric sounds familiar — Trump made nearly identical claims about his beloved White House ballroom vanity project — but it’s extremely difficult to take seriously. There’s literally no evidence to suggest the armed forces and/or the Secret Service want or need a second presidential retreat.

Whether the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners will look favorably on the proposal remains to be seen. Watch this space.

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