most presidential trips

The Wandering RV

Most traveled us presidents (118 years of data).

• Bill Widmer
• Updated: June 14, 2023

Sponsors help keep our quality content free!

Did you know that Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson did no international travel at all ?

Theodore Roosevelt was the mold-breaker.

Theodore Roosevelt was the first US president to leave the country on official state business.

In 1906, he visited Panama to inspect construction of Panama Canal.

And thus started a great tradition of Presidential travel.

Quick Stats and Facts Trump vs. Obama: Foreign Trips Trump vs. George W. Bush: Foreign Trips Trump vs Clinton: International Travel Most Traveled US President Most Popular Countries for US Presidents Combined Map of All US Presidential Visits Individual President Foreign Trip Country Maps

Quick Stats and Facts

Download Maps, Charts & Data  

Which President has traveled the most while in office?

George W. Bush is the most traveled US President  with 140 international visits.

William J. Clinton and Barack Obama are close 2nd and 3rd with 133 and 120 international visits respectively.

Donald J. Trump  is the  9th most traveled  US President with  only 34 international visits .  This shocked us most of all.  See the animations below to get a real sense of the difference.

Theodore Roosevelt & Calvin Coolidge are the least traveled  US Presidents with only 1 international visit each.

The  UK is the most popular country  with 64 or 8% of all visits.

115 countries were visited in total . That’s 59% of the world’s countries. Leaving  41% unvisited .

Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Bahamas 5 times . 4 of which were, ahem, fishing trips.

Trump vs. Obama: Foreign Trips

Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus Barrack Obama’s 120 international visits.

Obama has made 3.5 times more international visits than Trump.

Obama made an average of 15 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.

Trump vs. George W. Bush: Foreign Trips

Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus George W. Bush’s 140 international visits.

Bush has made 4.1 times more international visits than Trump.

Bush made an average of 18 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.

Trump vs Clinton: Foreign Trips

Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus Bill Clinton’s 133 international visits.

Clinton has made 3.9 times more international visits than Trump.

Clinton made an average of 17 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.

Most Traveled US President

George W. Bush is the most traveled US President to date.

Donald J. Trump is the 9th most traveled US President with 34 international visits under his belt.

Most Popular Countries for US Presidential Foreign Trips

The UK is by far the most visited country with 64 visits out of the 794 analysed. That’s 8% of all visits.

11 of the top 22 most visited countries are in Europe. That’s 50%.

South America is surprisingly under-represented with only 3 countries in the top 22 most visited list, or 13%.

Asia also has 3 countries in the top 22 list.

Combined Map of All US Presidential Foreign Trips

115 countries were visited in total.

That’s 59% of the world’s countries.

Leaving 41% unvisited.

Individual President Foreign Trip Maps

Foreign trips by woodrow wilson.

Foreign Trips by Calvin Coolidge

Foreign Trips by Herbert C. Hoover

Foreign Trips by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Foreign Trips by Harry S. Truman

Foreign Trips by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Foreign Trips by John F. Kennedy

Foreign Trips by Lyndon B. Johnson

Foreign Trips by Richard M. Nixon

Foreign Trips by Gerald R. Ford

Foreign Trips by Jimmy Carter

Foreign Trips by Ronald Reagan

Foreign Trips by George H.W. Bush

Foreign Trips by Bill Clinton

Foreign Trips by George W. Bush

Foreign Trips by Barrack Obama

Foreign Trips by Donald J. Trump

Download Maps, Charts & Data  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_trips_made_by_presidents_of_the_United_States https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidential_trips_made_by_Donald_Trump_(2019) https://www.worldometers.info/

Have you traveled more than our Presidents? 

Let us know in the comments below.

RV Extended Warranties — Are they worth it? Everything you need to know

The wandering rv product review: venustas heated gloves, the bluetti eb55 & pv120 kit: portable power redefined, comprehensive review of the 2024 winnebago ekko.

These help keep our quality content free!

Keep Reading

Related article.

RV Warranties… the part of RVing no traveler wants to think about. It’s protection for the worst-case scenarios, and serves only as peace-of-mind in the

Battling cold hands during those winter adventures can be a real drag. Whether you’re carving up the slopes, cruising on your motorcycle, or venturing out

Introduction: Empowering the Weekend Wanderer Imagine this: The open road calls, and you answer, RV or camper van packed, ready for a weekend of blissful

Our Sponsors

Thanks for reading! Make sure to check our some of our sponsors below, all revenue we get is used to produce quality content for fans of the RV lifestyle like you!

RV Rentals by Type

Sign up for our newsletter.

• My Reading List
• Account Settings
• Newsletters & alerts
• Gift subscriptions
• Accessibility for screenreader

Detours with locals. Travel tips you can trust.

Vacationer-in-chief: A history of presidential getaways

[ Trump finally went to Camp David. It’s no Mar-a-Lago. ]

[ 5 expert tips for visiting national parks ]

[ Everything you need for the return of travel ]

[ Trump says he doesn’t take vacations. They couldn’t top Teddy Roosevelt’s, anyway. ]

Western ranches

Northeastern beaches

We noticed you’re blocking ads!

Travels Abroad of the President

By president.

• Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
• William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
• Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
• Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
• Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
• Herbert C. Hoover (1929–1933)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
• Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
• John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
• Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
• Richard M. Nixon (1969–1974)
• Gerald R. Ford (1974–1977)
• Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
• Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
• George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)
• William J. Clinton (1993–2001)
• George W. Bush (2001–2009)
• Barack Obama (2009–2017)
• Donald J. Trump (2017–2021)

By Destination

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Brunei Darussalam
• China, People’s Republic of
• Czech Republic
• Czechoslovakia
• El Salvador
• Germany, Federal Republic of
• Korea, Republic of
• Korea, South
• Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Palestinian Authority
• Philippines
• Republic of China
• Saudi Arabia
• Serbia-Montenegro (Kosovo)
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
• United Kingdom (Wales)
• Vatican City
• Yugoslavia (Kosovo)

Fact check: Who took more presidential vacations?

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha's Vineyard in August, Obama's count was 125 full or partial days and Bush's total at the same point in his presidency was 407.

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There's no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama's 15-day family vacation on Martha's Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Mo., after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene , the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course .

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010 , at which point Obama had spent 26 days on "vacation" during his first year in office, fewer than the first-year totals for George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief's travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn't consider these days away from the White House real "vacation" days. He said then in an e-mail: "I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he's doing."

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the "Western White House" to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama's recent Martha's Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the "vacation." Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn't include visits to Camp David , the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha's Vineyard , Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation , and at the same point in Bush's presidency, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents' home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we e-mailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush's total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison's sake, Bill Clinton's total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama's total to date to 223 (that's 83 days at Camp David) and Bush's total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these "vacation" days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post "Outlook" piece on "Five myths on presidential vacations." (Myth No. 1: "Presidents get vacations.") The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn't include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller's figures as of Aug. 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

Presidential Vacations

By Lori Robertson

Posted on August 28, 2014 | Updated on December 23, 2015

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.

FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 — which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene , the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course .

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010 , at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David , the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard , Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation , and at the same point in Bush’s presidency, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

Updated, Dec. 23, 2015: As he has in past years, the president is vacationing in Hawaii for the holidays. So we thought we would check in with Knoller, the CBS reporter who keeps track of presidential vacations, for an update. Knoller tells us in an email that Obama has taken “24 vacation trips of varying lengths totaling all or part of 182 days as of today.” This means that Obama as president now has taken more vacation days than Bill Clinton, but less than George W. Bush.

— Lori Robertson

Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed . 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “ Five myths about presidential vacations .” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch . Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “ President Obama’s Vacation Days .” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “ Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch .” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “ Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation. ‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “ Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson). ” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “ Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington .” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

What can we help you find?

While we certainly appreciate historical preservation, it looks like your browser is a bit too historic to properly view whitehousehistory.org. — a browser upgrade should do the trick.

Main Content

Presidential Vacations & Retreats

President Ulysses S. Grant put the presidential stamp on Long Branch by acquiring a large seaside cottage, driving his carriage along the beach and returning every summer of his presidency. Postcard of the Grant cottage at Elberon, New Jersey. c. 1914.

Show Me More

This 1886 drawing depicts President Grover Cleveland and First Lady Frances Cleveland fishing at their honeymoon cottage at Deer Park Maryland with members of the press. Cleveland found fish to be even more mysterious and startling in their behavior than their human counterparts. "No one has yet been wise enough to explain their ways or account for their conduct."

President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir on Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley, California, in 1903.

President William Howard Taft on the green at Chevy Chase, Maryland in the summer of 1909. The first serious presidential golfer, Taft never let high scores discourage his love of the game.

In May 1943 Winston Churchill visited Shangri-La (now known as Camp David) where he had a chance to observe President Franklin D. Roosevelt working on his stamp collection. The prime minister recalled that he watched him "with much interest and in silence for perhaps half an hour as he stuck them in, each in its proper place, and so forgot the cares of the State." — Caption from "Away from the White House"

President John F. Kennedy at the helm of Manitou, sailing off the coast of Maine, on August 12, 1962. He was never happier than when at the tiller of a sailboat, steering the course, chomping on a small cigar, lunching on fish chowder, and bantering with family and friends. — Caption from "Away from the White House"

President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Claudia Johnson walk through a field of wildflowers at the LBJ Ranch, Stonewall, Texas, in July 1968. "All my life I have drawn strength and something more from those Texas Hills." Johnson's internal compass pointed west to the Texas hill country where visitors saw him at his most unvarnished, full of over-flowing exuberance. During his five years in the presidency, Johnson made the ranch a virtual extension of the White House.

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon stroll along the shoreline of San Clemente Beach, California in January 1971. Nixon believed in frequent escapes, discovering "how isolated from the reality of American life" a president can feel at the White House. "Like other presidents, before and after me, I felt the need to get out of the White House and out of Washington in order to keep some sense of perception."

President Gerald Ford skiing in Vail, Colorado, in December 1974. When he finished a run, Ford chatted easily with reporters and bystanders. A half dozen Secret Service agents, all chosen for their skiing skills, stood by. When an onlooker told him everyone was proud to have him in Vail, the president grinned. "You make me justice of the peace and I'll quit" -- and he meant the presidency! — Caption from "Away from the White House"

President Jimmy Carter and his family take a rafting trip down the Salmon River in Idaho in August 1978. When Carter discovered that his visits made his tiny hometown of Plains, Georgia, a target for disruptive protests, he took most of his vacations elsewhere.

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan ride horses on the grounds of their retreat, Rancho Del Cielo in November 1981. "Living in the White House," said Reagan, gave him "a bird-in-a-gilded-cage feeling." He flew away to his California ranch as often as he could.

The walls in President George H.W. Bush's private office at Walker's Point in Maine, seen here in 2004, are a testimony to his love of fishing. Bush commented once, after having a fish hook removed from his ear while fishing in off Kennebunkport, Maine, "If that had been in the eyeball, I guess we would have gone in, but it wasn't, and I didn't. After all, it was a perfect day for bluefish." — Caption from "Away from the White House"

President William Clinton and family at the Grand Tetons National Park in August 1995. In the remote regions of Yellowstone to witness the controversial release of wolves into the wild, a thunderstorm pelted Clinton with hail the size of hard peas prompting a park ranger to say, "Hail to the Chief."

President George W. Bush cleared cedar branches during a month-long vacation at his 1,600-acre ranch near Crawford, Texas, in August 2002. "The amazing thing about this job is, the job seems to follow you around."

President Barack Obama looks down the fairway while golfing at Vineyard Golf Club near Lobsterville Beach during his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, August 27, 2009.

President Donald J. Trump, professional golfer Lexi Thompson, and radio commenter Rush Limbaugh pose for a photo on Friday, April 19, 2019, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

About this Gallery

Presidents have found different ways to escape the pressures and politics of the position. For early leaders, it was a matter of course they would leave the White House for the summer to tend to a personal businesses or farms. The modern-day presidency is a year-round job. While the work often follows, the countryside of Virginia or seaside of Maine can provide a better backdrop for writing speeches or drafting policy — all while spending quality time with family and friends.

You Might Also Like

America’s Irish Roots

Featuring Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States

The Nixon White House 1969 - 1974

On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as

Presidential and First Lady Portraits

Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection. Recent presidents and first ladies typically select their respective artists before leaving the White House and approve the portraits before their formal presentation to the public and induction into the collection. The

White House Builder James Hoban’s Irish Roots

Featuring Laurie Grace, Chairman of the James Hoban Society of Ireland; Brother Christy O’Carroll, Congregation of Christian Brothers; Ciarán O’Connor, State Architect of Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Senior Architect, Lotts Architecture & Urbanism; Brian O’Connell, Director and Founder of O’Connell Mahon Architects and a contributor to the book James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House

Weddings and the White House

From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden on the South Lawn in November 2022, the White House has long been the site of wedding ceremonies and receptions. In over two hundred years, there have been nineteen documented weddings and four receptions hosted

The Ford White House 1974 - 1977

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to national attention in 1973, when President Richard Nixon nominated him as vice president. Less than a year later, Ford became president, following President Nixon's resignation from office. The Fords made and celebrated history during their time in the White House, fr

Dinner with the President

Featuring Alex Prud’homme, bestselling author and great-nephew of cooking legend Julia Child

Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President

Featuring Jonathan Darman, author of “Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President"

250 Years of American Political Leadership

Featuring Iain Dale, award-winning British author and radio and podcast host

The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament

Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2023 design and learn more about President Gerald R. Ford. Buy

The History of Wine and the White House

Featuring Frederick J. Ryan, author of “Wine and the White House: A History" and member of the White House Historical Association’s National Council on White House History

The 2022 White House Christmas Ornament

Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2022 design and learn more about President Richard Nixon. Buy the

The Official 2024 White House Christmas Ornament

sign up and keep track of your travel insurance events

Travel like a President: Presidential Vacations Over the Years

See highlights of where U.S. presidents have spent their vacations, which presidents have spent the most time on vacation and other fun presidential vacation facts:

Calvin Coolidge - Sapelo Island, Georgia 

During the Christmas holidays of 1928, President Coolidge planted a commemorative live oak on the grounds of newly-constructed Spanish Revival style hotel, The Cloister at Sea Island. Now considered one of the top luxury resorts in the country, with a Five-Star rating from Forbes, Sea Island has hosted the G8 summit and many international events.

Franklin D. Roosevelt - Warm Springs, Georgia

The town of Warm Springs drew President Roosevelt, who sought relief from polio in its therapeutic waters. He ultimately built a six-room cottage called ‘The Little White House’ where many New Deal programs were conceived. Today, the  National Park Service  offers tours of Roosevelt’s personal retreat and the nearby rehabilitation center named for him. 

Harry S. Truman - Key West, Florida

After 19 months in office, Truman’s doctor ordered a warm vacation and so he visited Key West in November 1946. During the Truman years, Cabinet members and foreign officials were regular visitors for fishing trips and poker games. Today, the "Harry S. Truman Little White House" is a state historic site and museum, which has been visited by other presidents including Clinton, Kennedy and Carter.

Also read:  8 Great Florida Vacation Destinations

Dwight D. Eisenhower - Augusta, Georgia

President Eisenhower was an avid golfer who loved playing the course at Augusta National and visited Georgia over 45 times during his lifetime. Eisenhower took issue with a Loblolly pine tree planted on the 17th hole on the course. He hit the tree so many times during his games, that he proposed removing it. He was overruled however, and it’s gone on to become perhaps the most infamous tree in golf.

See how travel insurance can help on a golfing trip

John F. Kennedy - Palm Beach, Florida 

The Kennedy family owned a sprawling estate on Millionaire’s Row in Palm Beach. The Mediterranean-style home earned the name "winter White House" as President Kennedy made frequent trips with the first family for vacations and holidays. President Kennedy met with advisors and cabinet officials at the beachfront home and spent his last weekend in Palm Beach before his assassination in 1963. 

Also see:  Best Places to Rent a Beach House in the U.S.

Gerald Ford - Beaver Creek, Colorado 

An avid skier and golfer, President Ford first visited Vail as a member of Congress. After becoming the country’s 38th President, he drew international attention to Colorado’s  ski resorts . The Fords bought their home in Beaver Creek in 1980 when the resort opened to the public and is now available as a rental property.

Also read:  Six Great Colorado Small-Town Getaways

Ronald Reagan - Santa Barbara, California 

Rancho del Cielo or Sky Ranch, served as the ‘Western White House’ for President Reagan. The Reagans hosted world leaders like British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at their vacation home in the Santa Ynez mountains. The Young America’s Foundation now owns the ranch and offers tours on a limited basis.

Also read:  7 Great Destinations for Your Next California Vacation

George H.W. Bush - Kennebunkport, Maine

The family compound at Walker’s Point on the shores of Maine became a ‘summer White House’ during Bush’s years as President. The residence includes a swimming pool , tennis court, golf green and private boat dock. The Bushes hosted British Prime Minister John Major and Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin, along with many political supporters. 

Taking a weekend getaway? Rest Easier with Travel Insurance

Bill Clinton - Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

President Clinton took several vacations to the island off the coast of Massachusetts during his two terms in office. President Clinton was a popular figure in the beach community and was often in the public eye, whether attending political fundraisers or biking to town for an ice cream cone. The Clintons generally stayed in borrowed homes for their vacations, including that of Robert McNamara, the former Defense Secretary to President Lyndon Johnson.

Barack Obama - Kailua, Hawaii 

Spectacular Kailua Beach was the location of President Obama’s ‘winter White House’ in Hawaii . Visiting his birthplace was a regular event for Obama, who vacationed in Kailua many times over his eight years as our 44th president. The luxurious beachfront where the first family stayed is a rental property  that's available to anyone who can afford the $4,500 nightly fee.

Find the Hawaiian Island You Should Visit 

Presidential Vacation Days:

• George W. Bush - 1,020 days
• Franklin D. Roosevelt - 958 days
• George H. W. Bush - 534 days
• Lyndon B. Johnson - 484 days
• Dwight D. Eisenhower - 456 days

Fast Presidential Vacation Facts:

• Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to travel outside of the country.
• In 1945, Harry S. Truman became the first U.S. president to use air travel when he flew to Washington state.
• President Kennedy escaped the White House by sailing his yacht on the nearby Potomac river.
• During his first year in office President Clinton didn’t want to take vacations and his staff had to practically force him to take a break.
• FDR, Carter, Hoover and both Bush presidents enjoyed fishing. Eisenhower and Clinton liked to golf, Ford enjoyed snow skiing vacations , Obama played basketball and Nixon appreciated a beach retreat. 

If one of the busiest people on earth can find time to carve out some R&R, the rest of us have no excuse. Take the three days off and plan a getaway for President's Day weekend. Make the most of your long weekend by protecting your presidential vacation with a travel insurance plan from Generali Global Assistance .

Travel Resources

*" Nixon’s ‘Western White House ’" by manhei , used under CC BY / Cropped from original

Average Customer Rating:

Thank you for visiting csatravelprotection.com

As part of the worldwide Generali Group we have rebranded our travel protection plans to Generali Global Assistance, offering the same quality travel insurance, emergency assistance and outstanding customer service as you've come to rely on for the last 25 years. Welcome to our new website!

Final step before you're signed up

Please verify that you're human.

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

5 facts about presidential travel abroad

American presidents and other world leaders frequently travel internationally, most commonly for conferences and bilateral meetings. This face-to-face diplomacy can offer insights into political priorities, partnerships and tensions, as well as key international issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel in 2020 and 2021, but diplomatic travel picked up significantly in 2022. Here are five facts about presidential travel abroad:

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to examine the international travel history of recent U.S. presidents and other heads of government through Jan. 20, 2023.

Dates and destinations of U.S. presidential travel prior to 2021 are from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian, which has recorded international presidential travel since 1901. Travel data for 2021 and 2022 was compiled from White House press briefings. Information on visits to Ukraine by other world leaders were independently verified through official government websites.

Only trips where the head of government met face-to-face with another head of government are included. For example, Biden’s trip to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral is excluded as Biden did not hold any diplomatic meetings with the British prime minister or other world leaders. Visiting leaders were only counted if they were the head of government at the time of their visit. Depending on the country’s political system, “head of government” could mean president or prime minister, but not both. Heads of state, monarchs and interim leaders are excluded from the visiting leaders count.

U.S. President Joe Biden has traveled internationally less frequently than his last two predecessors did. Biden traveled to 17 places outside the United States in his first two years in office, visiting some more than once. He made six international trips in 2021, all of them to Europe. In 2022, he made 12 trips, including to Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. And in early 2023, Biden traveled to Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit.

All told, Biden’s international visit count trails those of former Presidents Donald Trump, who made 23 international trips to 20 places during his first two years in office, and Barack Obama, who made 32 trips to 24 places in the first two years of his presidency.

Biden’s first presidential trip abroad was to the United Kingdom, while Trump’s was to Saudi Arabia and Obama’s was to Canada. A president’s first trip is often used to signal the importance of a strategic alliance. On his trip to the UK in June 2021, Biden reaffirmed the U.S.-UK partnership and committed to close cooperation throughout his presidency. Typically, U.S. presidents visit a close ally on their inaugural trip: Canada was the first international destination for both Obama and Bill Clinton, while Mexico was the first destination for George W. Bush.

U.S. presidents have visited the UK the most in the past decade – a total of eight times. American presidents have worked closely with their British counterparts over the past decade, cooperating on issues from defense and counterterrorism to climate policy . Travel to the UK has largely centered around conferences and summits, but in 2019, Trump made a ceremonial state visit to the UK .  

In the past decade of presidential travel, Belgium (home to NATO headquarters ), France, Germany and Japan are the second-most visited destinations, at six times each.

So far, Biden has made the most trips to the UK and Belgium – two each. (Biden’s additional visit to the UK to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is not included in this count, since he did not hold any diplomatic appointments.) Just as these two European allies stand out in Biden’s presidential travel thus far, France stands out in Trump’s administration and Germany stands out in Obama’s – they visited those respective countries four times while in office.

Biden is among 38 heads of government who have visited Ukraine since the beginning of the war there. Biden traveled to Kyiv as part of a surprise trip in February, days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion .

While many heads of government visiting Ukraine have come from neighboring countries or countries in Europe (such as Poland’s prime minister, who has visited five times since the beginning of the war) that is not always the case. For example, Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei and Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló traveled to Ukraine in July 2022 and October 2022, respectively.

Biden hosted 28 heads of government at the White House as of the end of 2022. Foreign leaders come to the U.S. for events including conferences, summits and bilateral meetings. Among those to visit the White House in 2021 and 2022 were then-Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, who met with Biden to submit her country’s application for NATO membership ; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who traveled to the White House on his first known wartime trip abroad ; and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose trip marked the first state visit of Biden’s presidency . In fact, the president of France has been the first leader to make a state visit to the U.S. for the past three presidential terms, with Macron visiting Trump in April 2018 and his predecessor, François Hollande, visiting Obama in February 2014. In April 2023, Biden hosted the second state visit of his administration , meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

• International Affairs

Sarah Austin is a research assistant focusing on global attitudes research at Pew Research Center

A growing share of Americans have little or no confidence in Netanyahu

Fewer americans view the united nations favorably than in 2023, what are americans’ top foreign policy priorities, rising numbers of americans say jews and muslims face a lot of discrimination, younger americans stand out in their views of the israel-hamas war, most popular.

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Age & Generations
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Economy & Work
• Family & Relationships
• Gender & LGBTQ
• Immigration & Migration
• Internet & Technology
• Methodological Research
• News Habits & Media
• Non-U.S. Governments
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Race & Ethnicity
• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookie Settings

Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy

Travel Guide to the 22 Presidential Libraries and Museums You Can Visit

By Jason Barnette | Travel writer and photographer with 15+ years of road tripping experience

• Last Updated on February 18, 2024
• Published on February 12, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Affiliate Disclosure here .

Road Trip to the 8 Presidential Sites Throughout Northern Ohio

How to Visit the 39 Presidential Gravesites in the U.S. – Travel Tips, Details, and Interesting Facts

The Definitive List of Every Presidential Home You Can Visit in the U.S.

U.S. presidential libraries preserve, interpret, and put historical presidential materials within reach of researchers. But beyond the wordsmith researching another bestselling historical biography, these libraries are also intriguing museums with jaw-dropping exhibits – like Reagan’s Air Force One and Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine.

Parks with lakes and hiking trails often surround the presidential libraries. The Clinton Presidential Park Bridge is an 1899 bridge converted into a pedestrian-only trail across the Arkansas River. And several of the presidents are buried near their presidential library.

For me, part of the fun of visiting presidential libraries is the road trip involves getting there. Some of the presidential are in remote parts of the country far from the nearest airport or train station. That’s why I started compiling this list years ago after visiting my first presidential library in Canton during a 6-week road trip across Ohio.

This travel guide has everything you need to plan a trip by plane, train, or automobile to the presidential libraries and museums from California to Massachusetts.

How to use this map | Click the icon in the top-left corner to open the Map Legend, then click on any of the legend items to display more information. If you have a Google account, click the (very faint) star at the end of the map’s name to save this map to your account, then access the map from your smartphone during your trip.

In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt set a precedent when he donated his personal and presidential correspondence to a newly created government agency: the National Archives and Records Administration. This led to the establishment of the first presidential library in 1941.

President Harry S. Truman followed Roosevelt’s example in 1950 when he also donated his papers. This set in motion a series of events that changed the future of these documents.

In 1955, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act. This codified the precedent Roosevelt set by creating an official Presidential Library system with the following primary components:

• Presidents are encouraged, but not required, to donate their materials to the federal government.
• Establishes a presidential library for all future Presidents of the United States.
• Requires private funding to build the library and provide an endowment for future maintenance.
• The National Archives and Records Administration operates the presidential library.
• All historical materials are made available for research to the general public.

Roosevelt’s presidential library was the only one operated by NARA before the Presidential Libraries Act.

Everything changed after the infamous Watergate scandal. After resigning from office in 1974, Richard Nixon planned to destroy most of his presidential materials. Congress quickly responded, passing the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act. The Act took federal custody of Nixon’s materials, preserving them for future generations.

In 1978, the Presidential Records Act solidified federal ownership of any presidential materials directly related to the president’s constitutional and statutory duties. The Archivist of the United States collects the documents, cataloged by the National Archives and Records Administration, and distributed them to the presidential libraries.

The Presidential Libraries Act created the framework for establishing presidential libraries built with private funding and operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. But, not all presidential libraries are operated by NARA.

A presidential library has been established for every president since Hoover. But only thirteen of the libraries have been built. The Barack Obama Presidential Library is under construction in Chicago, and there are no current plans for a physical location for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library .

All but one of these presidential is operated by NARA. In 2023, NARA transferred the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum operations to the George W. Bush Foundation. It’s the first time since Theodore Roosevelt that a presidential library is not operated by NARA.

And there are many other presidential libraries not operated by NARA.

The George Washington Presidential Library was completed in 2013 and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, founded in 1853 to preserve Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. And the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum was built by the non-profit Hayes Presidential Center, Inc.

These non-federal presidential libraries have collections from private owners – not the National Archives – because these were before the 1978 Presidential Records Act. That’s why only 7 non-federal presidential libraries have ever been built.

There are few differences between NARA and non-federal presidential libraries besides the operations. Both types of presidential libraries make historical records available for research, have public museums to explore artifacts, and work to preserve as many presidential materials as possible.

The National Archives and Records Administration operates 14 presidential libraries:

• Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum
• Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
• Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum
• Donald J. Trump Presidential Library and Museum

The non-federal presidential libraries include:

• George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
• Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library
• Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum
• McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
• Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
• George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Two presidential libraries are currently under construction:

• Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (non-federal)
• Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum (NARA)

I love passport books. I keep the National Parks Passport in a three-ring binder, the Lighthouse Passport, and the U.S. Capitals Passport in the center console of my Honda Pilot. It’s the same place I also keep my leatherbound Craft Beer Log, which I found at Paper Skyscraper in Charlotte .

But no one told me about the Passport to Presidential Libraries when I visited my first presidential library.

The $10 passport is for sale at the fourteen presidential libraries maintained by NARA. Each two-page spread in the passport features information about the president’s accomplishments and a place to collect the cancellation stamp.

After collecting all fourteen cancellation stamps, you can present the completed passport to one of the presidential libraries and receive a special gift – a Presidential Crystal Paperweight. It’s one of the best rewards for completing a passport.

But maybe not as good as collecting a Wilbear Wright at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park after completing the Aviation Trail Passport!

The presidential libraries are spread across the country, from California to Massachusetts . Most of them are near international airports or Amtrak stations. And, of course, my favorite way to visit the libraries is by road trip.

Whether you travel by plane, train, or automobile, one thing is almost certain about visiting a presidential library: you’ll need a car to get there. Driving your car is the easiest. But it’s also easy to rent a car or hire a ride share like Uber or Lyft. And, just in case everything fails, many cities still have old-fashioned taxis.

I have included airports and train stations near the presidential libraries in the map above. With each library listed below, I have included more detailed information and links to the airports and train stations.

If you’re driving, I suggest visiting the Road Trips page for inspiration, road trip gear, and how-to guides.

Although the first recorded mention of a Washington presidential library was in 1885, it would be almost one hundred years before work began in earnest. In 1983, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association began expanding the Mount Vernon campus with a new administration building. Construction on a library and research center started in 2010.

Read More | Everything You Need to Know to Visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington is colloquially called the George Washington Presidential Library. The $100 million building opened its doors on September 27, 2013.

The library contains thousands of rare books, manuscripts, documents, and artifacts. One of the most interesting parts of the collection is the Revolutionary War era maps used by Washington during his campaigns.

The library is open for research by appointment. The library is across the road from the Mount Vernon estate in northern Virginia. Although the library is not open for public tours, visitors can take guided tours of Washington’s house, explore the vast campus, and visit the museum.

Address | 3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mt Vernon, VA 22121 Phone | 703-780-3600 Website | www.mountvernon.org/library

How to Get There

George Washington Presidential Library is in Mount Vernon, Virginia , about thirty minutes south of Alexandria and Washington, D.C.

Reagan National Airport (DCA) is the closest airport. The airport is serviced by most domestic airlines and has daily connections to other nearby airports. Dulles International Airport (IAD) is further away but offers many more flights. Airlines include United, American, Delta, British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates, and Qatar Airways.

The Alexandria Amtrak station is an enclosed building with staff, restrooms, and a waiting room. Getting a rideshare from the train station to the presidential library is easy. The station is on the Cardinal route connecting New York, Washington, Charlottesville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago.

Northern Virginia is a congested mess of trudging traffic. Fortunately, Mount Vernon is at the southern edge of the area, just far enough away to make it easy to drive to. Interstates 66 and 95 intersect nearby. The George Washington Memorial Parkway is a scenic drive between Mount Vernon and I-495 west of Washington.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library opened in 2004, and the museum opened six months later in 2005. The library and museum were funded by the State of Illinois, one of the only presidential libraries owned by a state. The campus includes two modern buildings and the historic Union Station near the Old State Capital State Historic Site.

The library’s collections include many documents and artifacts from Lincoln’s tenure as president. The collection also consists of the Illinois State Historical Library, a state agency founded in 1889 to preserve Illinois’s history.

The most impressive things about the museum are the full-size dioramas. Scenes from Lincoln’s White House, the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre, and a recreation of his boyhood home allow visitors to feel like they’re walking through time. Other permanent exhibits interpret Lincoln’s presidency and critical moments of the Civil War.

There is no admission charge for research at the library. However, there is a moderate admission charge for the museum. The admission is good all day, so you can leave for a nearby lunch and return any time before the museum closes.

Address | 212 North 6th Street, Springfield, IL 62701 Phone | 217-558-8844 Website | https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is ideally located in Springfield, the capital city of Illinois .

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) is a small regional airport minutes from downtown Springfield. The airport features rental cars but very few flights. The General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Peoria is the most convenient airport. This airport has direct flights from a dozen cities, including Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, and Dallas.

Passenger trains have serviced Springfield since Union Station opened in 1898. In 1971, Amtrak built a new Springfield station a couple of blocks from the original. The Springfield Station is on two routes. The Lincoln Service runs between Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City. The Texas Eagle runs between Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio, with an extension to Los Angeles.

Interstates 55 and 72 intersect in Springfield. These highways offer quick travel from almost anywhere in the country.

In 2009, Mississippi State University received the collection of papers and artifacts once belonging to Ulysses S. Grant. The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library was founded in 2012 on the 50th anniversary of the Ulysses S. Grant Association’s founding. The library is a joint venture between the association and the university, with the library and museum occupying the fourth floor of the Mitchell Memorial Library.

Read More | The Definitive List of Every Presidential Home You Can Visit in the U.S.

The library’s collection includes 15,000 linear feet of documents, photographs, and artifacts from Grant’s life. The artifacts come from his childhood, military career, and presidency.

Visitors can explore the museum to learn about four critical eras of Grant’s life: cadet at West Point, commanding general of the Union Army during the Civil War, the 18th President of the United States, and his later life as a statesman. The museum features interactive exhibits, full-size dioramas, and learn about his funeral parade through New York City.

The library and museum do not charge an admission fee.

Address | 395 Hardy Road, Starkville, MS 39759 Phone | 662-325-4552 Website | www.usgrantlibrary.org

Where to Park

The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and Museum are located on the fourth floor of the Mitchell Memorial Library. Getting to the library is slightly different than most presidential libraries because it’s on the Mississippi State University campus.

Visitors can obtain a parking pass and park for free in any space not marked for service, handicapped, or metered. The best free parking lot is the Commuter East, about a ten-minute walk from the library.

Visitors can also pay for parking in metered spaces and garages without parking permits. The university uses the ParkMobile ( iOS | Android ) app to manage smartphone payments. Use the app to find available spaces, pay for initial parking, and adjust as needed during your visit.

Did You Know | A quirky requirement for faculty, staff, and students at Mississippi State University is they must park with the license plate facing the driving lane. This allows campus police to find vehicles quickly. But it’s also a great way to see where everyone is from while visiting campus!

Mississippi State University is in Starkville, a remote small town in Mississippi . Getting there requires a road trip on U.S. Highways – my favorite way of traveling.

Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) is the closest place to fly to Starkville, Mississippi. It’s about a two-hour drive from the airport with a rental car.

It takes about 1.5 hours to drive from Winona along Interstate 55 to Starkville. Driving from Tupelo along Interstate 22 is faster, taking only about an hour.

Make it a Road Trip | The most scenic way to Starkville is a drive along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Leave Jackson on the parkway northbound toward Kosciusko, the only town in America named after the Revolutionary War hero. It’s a 140-mile drive that takes about 3 hours to complete.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum was the first presidential library operated by the National Archive and Records Administration. The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum was the first built after the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act was passed.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum is the oldest presidential library in the U.S. It was built 25 years before Roosevelt’s presidential library.

In 1873, Hayes and his family moved into a two-story brick mansion at Spiegel Grove near Fremont, Ohio. After he died in 1893, the house was left to his second son, Colonel Webb C. Hayes. Plans were immediately implemented to preserve the presidential documents and build a library.

Read More | How to Visit the 39 Presidential Gravesites in the U.S.

Webb deeded the estate to the State of Ohio and the president’s possessions to the Ohio Historical Society. A condition of the donation was that the state build a fireproof building to house the collection safely.

In 1916, the Hayes Memorial opened. After the last generation of the Hayes family left the house in 1965, the State of Ohio opened the home for public tours. The original fireproof building has expanded several times but remained on the family’s former estate.

Pro Travel Tip | The best time to visit is spring, summer, or autumn. Plan to spend 3-4 hours visiting the library, exploring the museum, taking a guided tour of the Hayes Home, and walking the beautiful grounds.

Admission to Spiegel Grove, the museum, and the library is free. The library is open to the public, with several temporary exhibits.

Address | Spiegel Grove, Fremont, OH 43420 Phone | 419-332-2081 Website | www.rbhayes.org

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum is in Fremont, Ohio , a small town near Toledo .

Toledo Express Airport (TOL) is the nearest airport, about 40 miles away. The small regional airport is only serviced by Allegiant Air and American Airlines.

Interstate 90 passes nearby to the north, and Interstate 75 about 25 miles west. These interstates provide easy driving from most places in the country.

The McKinley Presidential Library and Museum was the first presidential library I ever visited. It gave me a new direction for road trips and angled me toward writing more about presidential history.

In 1963, the Stark County Historical Society opened a presidential library adjacent to the McKinley National Memorial, the final resting place of the nation’s 25th president. But it’s unlike any other presidential library.

The library and museum are an intriguing amalgamation of research library, history museum, science center, and planetarium. It’s everything McKinley enjoyed, so the vast exhibits are a tribute to his legacy.

Read More | 7 Fun and Educational Things to Do at the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton, OH

The Ramsayer Research Library preserves over 40,000 documents and artifacts related to McKinley. The library is open to researchers by appointment.

Pro Travel Tip | Plan to spend about 2-3 hours exploring the vast museum. Then, walk next door to visit the final resting place of McKinley.

Discover World explores scientific topics like dinosaurs and how tornadoes work. Interactive, hands-on exhibits inspire children to explore physics, mechanics, and engineering.

The McKinley Gallery is the heart of the presidential library. It’s a fascinating full-size diorama chronicling McKinley’s life. The diorama features furniture from their Canton home, his desk, and two quirky animatronic versions of William and Ida McKinley.

Visitors must pay an admission fee to explore the museum and an additional fee to see a planetarium show. There is no admission to the McKinley National Memorial.

Address | 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW, Canton, OH 44708 Phone | 330-455-7043 Website | https://mckinleymuseum.org/

The McKinley Presidential Library and Museum is in Canton, Ohio , about an hour south of Cleveland.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) is the closest airport, about 50 miles north in Cleveland. The airport is serviced by a dozen airlines, including American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Spirit.

Interstate 77 is the only major highway through Canton.

The Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation was founded in 1938. The first act of the non-profit was to buy the Manse, the historic house where Wilson was born in 1846, from Mary Baldwin College. The house was meticulously restored to its 1850s appearance over the next 80 years. The house opened for public tours in 1941.

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library expanded the campus by purchasing a home near the Manse. The research library expanded in 1990 with the Woodrow Wilson Museum at the corner of North Coalter and East Beverly Streets.

Although the research library has an impressive collection of Wilson documents and artifacts, it’s not the largest collection. The Library of Congress possesses most of his official correspondence, and Princeton University has a large collection of papers from his tenure as a professor.

Read More | 7 Intriguing Places to Discover the History of President Woodrow Wilson

The 8,000-square-foot museum features eight exhibit galleries. But my favorite exhibit is the 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine – a car frequently driven by Wilson.

The moderate admission fee includes a self-guided tour of the museum and a guided tour of the Manse.

Did You Know | Woodrow Wilson was the first president to be a member of the American Automotive Association, today known as AAA. Wilson’s love of “motoring” and the influence of his AAA membership led to the 1916 Federal Aid Highway Act, the first federal funding for a highway system, and the 1921 Federal Aid Highway Act that established the U.S. Highway System. This is why Wilson is one of my favorite presidents – he made the Great American Road Trip possible.

Address | 20 North Coalter Street, Staunton, VA 24401 Phone | 540-885-0897 Website | www.woodrowwilson.org

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is in the scenic Shenandoah Valley in Staunton, Virginia.

Charlottesville Albemarle Airport is the nearest airport. The small regional airport is only serviced by a few airlines, including Delta, American, and United.

The Staunton Amtrak station is an enclosed building with restrooms and a waiting room. The station is just a few blocks from the presidential library. It’s on the Cardinal route connecting New York, Washington, Charlottesville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago.

Interstates 64 and 81 intersect in Staunton. I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley is one of the country’s most scenic drives on an interstate. And it’s one of the primary interstates on the East Coast.

In 1891, Florence Kling married Warren Harding, the owner of a local newspaper in Marion, Ohio. They moved into a charming Queen Anne-style house built during their engagement. The couple remained in the house until 1921 when they left for the White House.

After Warren died in 1923 and Florence’s death in 1924, the Harding Home opened to the public in 1926.

Read More | Road Trip to the 8 Presidential Sites Throughout Northern Ohio

In 2016, the ambitious “Harding 2020” announcement changed the small historic site. The Harding Home was restored to its 1920s appearance, and the campus was enlarged with the addition of the new Warren G. Harding Presidential Library & Museum. The library opened in 2021 with plans for future a future expansion.

The library’s collection includes more than 5,000 historical objects. The museum’s galleries feature rotating exhibits with many artifacts displayed at various times. The research center is currently under construction.

Visitors can explore the museum and take a guided tour of the Harding Home. The moderate admission fee includes all-day access to the house, museum, and grounds.

Address | 380 Mt Vernon Avenue, Marion, OH 43302 Phone | 800-600-6894 Website | https://hardingpresidentialsites.org

The Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites is one of the most remote presidential libraries. It’s in Marion , Ohio , a small town between Columbus and Toledo .

John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) is the closest airport, about 50 miles south. It’s one of the largest airports in Ohio and is serviced by American, Delta, Southwest, United, and Spirit Airlines. You’ll need to rent a car to finish this trip, though.

There are no interstate highways near Marion. However, because of Ohio’s limited interstates and long distances, some U.S. Highways have higher speed limits, making travel quick and easy. U.S. Highway 23 is a great route between Columbus and Toledo – the route I drove on a road trip from Asheville to Toledo years ago.

After graduating from law school, Calvin Coolidge moved to Northampton, a small town in western Massachusetts . In 1907, Coolidge began his political career when he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 1st Hampshire District.

The first iteration of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum was established in 1920 Coolidge, the state’s governor and Vice President-Elect, donated documents and artifacts to Forbes Library, the local library in Northampton. In 1956, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts allotted funds to establish the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Room as a separate non-profit entity in Forbes Library.

Today, it’s known as the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum.

The library’s archives include the largest collection of documents and artifacts of Coolidge. It’s also the only public library in the country to hold a presidential collection.

Research is available by appointment. But, walk-ins can explore temporary exhibits on display during regular business hours for the library. There is no admission fee. It takes about an hour to peruse the small exhibit.

Address | 20 West Street, Northampton, MA 01060 Phone | 413-587-1014 Website | https://forbeslibrary.org/coolidge/

The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum is in Northampton, Massachusetts . It’s a small town in the western part of the state.

Bradley International Airport (BDL) is the nearest airport, about 30 miles south in Connecticut. The mid-sized airport is serviced by American, Delta, Southwest, United, and Spirit Airlines. You’ll need to rent a car to finish the trip.

The Northampton Amtrak station is an unstaffed platform beside the historic Union Station that now operates as a restaurant, bar, and rental facility. Fortunately, the station is less than half a mile from the presidential library. The station is on the Valley Flyer and Vermonter routes, connecting New York and Washington with many New England cities and towns.

Interstate 91 is the only major highway through the small town.

Following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s example, Herbert Hoover was the second President of the United States to establish a presidential library. In 1954, the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation was established to preserve Hoover’s birthplace in West Branch, Iowa. Work began on a small museum, but halfway through construction, Hoover decided to double the size and make it his presidential library.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1962.

In 1965, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site was established to preserve Hoover’s birthplace and childhood home. Although the presidential library is within the boundaries of the national historic site operated by the National Park Service , the library and museum are operated by the National Archives and Records Administration.

The library’s archives include the largest collection of documents and memorabilia for Hoover. The museum’s galleries tell the chronological story of Hoover, from his early years of youthful adventure, through his tenure as president during the Great Depression, and eventual statesman in later life.

There is no admission to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. However, there is a modest fee for exploring the museum. Visitors can explore Hoover’s Birthplace Cottage, a recreation of his father’s Blacksmith Shop, and visit the final resting place of the 31st president.

Address | 210 Parkside Drive, West Branch, IA 52358 Phone | 319-643-5301 Website | https://hoover.archives.gov/

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is remotely located in West Branch, Iowa .

Quad City International Airport (MLI) is the closest airport, about 55 miles from the presidential library. The small airport is serviced by American Airlines, Allegiant Air, and United Airlines. Rental cars are available for the final drive.

Interstate 80 passes through West Branch. It’s one of the few interstates in Iowa, making it a lengthy road trip to visit this presidential library.

National Park Week 2024

Learn about the annual celebration of the National Park System and read my travel guides to national park units across the country.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a growing problem. At the peak of his popularity during his lengthy presidency, he received as many as 4,000 letters daily. Roosevelt believed in a transparent government and wanted the public to access these letters and all official correspondence.

In 1934, Roosevelt signed legislation establishing the National Archives for preserving official documents. In 1939, he set a precedent when he donated his personal and presidential correspondence to the federal government and announced plans to build a library on his property in Hyde Park, New York .

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library was dedicated in 1941. But, legal battles after Roosevelt’s death in 1945 prevented the library from opening to the public. It took three years for the courts to clear the hurdles for the president’s personal collection to become federal property. At the same time, it took five years for archivists to search the collection for sensitive information.

In 1950, the library was finally opened to the public.

The library’s archives now include the collections of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 2013, the library and museum were rededicated after a multimillion renovation and expansion.

The archives are open for research by appointment. An admission fee is required for the museum. The museum features an impressive exhibition gallery with interactive displays and mini theaters playing historical footage of Roosevelt’s presidency.

The library and museum are in the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site . The park site is operated by the National Park Service , while the library and museum are operated by the National Archives and Records Administration.

There is a $10 admission fee to enter the national park site and an additional fee required to explore the presidential museum.

Address | 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538 Phone | 845-486-7770 Website | www.fdrlibrary.org

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is in Hyde Park in Upstate New York .

Stewart International Airport (SWF) is the nearest airport in New Windsor, about 25 miles from the presidential library. Although it’s a small airport, several airlines, including American, Delta, JetBlue, and Norwegian Air, service it. Rental cars are available to drive to the presidential library.

The Poughkeepsie Amtrak station is closer to the presidential library than the airport, but it’s still five miles away. The enclosed building features a waiting room and restrooms. The station is on the Adirondack , Berkshire Flyer , Empire Service , Ethan Allen Express , Lake Shore Limited , and Maple Leaf routes. This gives the station an incredible connection to cities along the East Coast, New England, and Great Lakes region.

Interstates 84 and 87 are the only major highways, but neither passes through Poughkeepsie or Hyde Park. U.S. Highway 9 is a scenic drive along the Hudson River to the presidential library.

Established in 1957, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum was the first library created following the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act. Expansions in subsequent years increased the library’s footprint to 100,000 square feet. President and Mrs. Truman are buried in the inner courtyard, one of the few presidents buried at their library.

The library’s collection includes over 15 million documents, thousands of hours of video recordings, and 10,000 books. It’s one of the largest collections of presidential materials.

The museum features permanent and temporary exhibits featuring the 32,000 artifacts in the collection. The Truman Presidential Years exhibit is a fascinating look into Truman’s history. Visitors can explore a full-size reproduction of Truman’s Oval Office.

The library and museum are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration. Researchers can make an appointment to study the vast collections. A modest admission fee is required for a self-guided tour of the museum.

A modest admission fee is required to explore the museum.

Address | 500 West US Highway 24, Independence, MO 64050 Phone | 816-268-8200 Website | www.trumanlibrary.gov

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is in Independence, Missouri , a small town at the edge of Kansas City. It’s a relatively easy presidential site to visit by plane, train, or automobile.

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is the closest airport. Some airlines servicing the airport include Southwest, Delta, America, and United. You will most likely want to rent a car at the airport since there is no easy public transportation option, and a rideshare would be expensive.

The Independence Amtrak station is an enclosed building with a waiting room but no restrooms or staff. The station is on the Missouri River Runner route connecting St. Louis, Jefferson City, and Kansas City.

Interstates 29, 35, 49, and 70 intersect in Kansas City, making driving to this presidential library from almost anywhere in the country easy.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home is one of the country’s largest and most impressive presidential libraries. And it is the only presidential library to begin construction while the president was still in office.

In 1945, the non-profit Eisenhower Foundation was established to honor the legacy of the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during WWII. The foundation’s first action was to buy Eisenhower’s childhood home in Abilene, Kansas . The first two attempts failed, but ultimately, the house was donated to the foundation.

The museum was completed in 1954, just one year after Eisenhower took office as President of the United States. The cornerstone of the library was laid while he was still in office and completed in 1962 – just one year after his presidency ended.

The sprawling campus has seven places open to the public: the library, museum, visitor’s center, Boyhood Home, The Place of Meditation, the Five Pylons, and Eisenhower’s gravesite. The Eisenhower Boyhood Home is an original house, standing in the same place it’s always been, furnished with items from the family, making it one of the most authentic presidential homes.

The library’s collection includes 26 million documents, over 768,000 feet of motion picture film, and 70,000 artifacts. A temporary exhibit gallery on the library’s second floor is open to the public. A moderate admission fee is required for the museum, and a guided tour of the boyhood home, but the grounds are open daily without a fee.

A moderate admission fee is required to explore the museum.

Address | 200 South East 4th Street, Abilene, KS 67410 Phone | 785-263-6700 Website | www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home is remotely located in Abilene, Kansas , about 140 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri . The best way to visit this presidential site is a road trip – a very long road trip.

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is the closest airport. Some airlines servicing the airport include Southwest, Delta, America, and United. Rental cars are available so you can begin the road trip at the airport.

Interstates 70 and 135 intersect just west of Abilene. These interstate highways provide quick access to most points across the country.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy met with the United States Archivist to discuss plans for a presidential library. It was Kennedy’s first year in office, but he was eager to follow the precedent established by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Hoover, and Eisenhower.

Kennedy selected a site for the library next to his alma mater, Harvard University, a month before his assassination. However, in 1975, the original site was abandoned in favor of an easier site for construction at Columbia Point. The 9.5-acre site is the only oceanfront presidential library.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, designed by noted architect I.M. Pei, opened in 1979. The 164,000-square-foot library and museum features an astonishing number of permanent exhibits, a testament to Kennedy’s accomplishments in such a short term. The exhibits include a full-size recreation of his Oval Office and an interactive exhibit about the early U.S. Space Program.

A moderate admission fee is required for the museum.

Address | Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02125 Phone | 617-514-1600 Website | www.jfklibrary.org

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is in Boston, Massachusetts . It’s one of the country’s easiest presidential libraries to travel to.

Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) is within sight of the presidential library. Delta, America, Southwest, United, British Airways, and Lufthansa are some airlines that service the airport. The airport is connected to public transportation, rideshares, and car rentals.

The South Station Amtrak facility is a few miles from the presidential library. This station is the terminus of the Acela , Lake Shore Limited , and Northeast Regional routes. These routes connect Boston to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Richmond, and Virginia Beach.

The North Station Amtrak facility is several blocks away on the other side of downtown. This station is the terminus of the Downeaster route connecting Boston, Portland, and Brunswick.

Driving from almost anywhere on the East Coast to Boston along Interstate 95 is easy. I-90 ends in Boston, and I-84 ends at I-90 just west of Boston.

Lyndon B. Johnson unexpectedly became the 36th president of the United States when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a parade in Dallas. Discussions about a presidential library did not start until his successful election to a second term in 1964.

In 1966, Johnson announced his presidential library would be built on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Unlike previous libraries that were privately funded, the publicly funded university contributed most of the building funds.

The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1971. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft, the 10-story building is a minimalist design model.

The library’s collection includes 45 million documents, over 600,000 photos, and over 600 hours of recorded phone calls. The building’s interior features the Great Hall – a four-story cavernous room with views of the vast archives through interior windows.

Like many other presidential libraries, there is a full-size replica of Johnson’s Oval Office, an intriguing animatronic LBJ, and dozens of interactive exhibits developed after the library’s renovation in 2012.

It was one of the few presidential sites without an admission fee until 2013 when the museum began charging a modest fee for exploring the exhibits.

Address | 2313 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78705 Phone | 512-721-0200

The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum is on The University of Texas at Austin campus in Texas . Fortunately, flying, riding a train, or driving to this presidential library is easy.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is a great airport for travel. Most major airlines, including Southwest, American, Delta, United, JetBlue, and Allegiant Air, serve the airport. The airport is connected to public transportation, rideshares, and car rentals.

The Austin Amtrak station is on the south side of downtown Austin near the Colorado River. The station is enclosed with staff, restrooms, and a waiting room. The station is on the Texas Eagle route connecting Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio, with an extension to Los Angeles.

Interstate 35 is the only major highway through Austin. But Interstate 10 is nearby with a cross-country connection.

In 1912, Frank Nixon bought a property in Yorba Linda, California , a suburban city near Los Angeles. The following year, Richard Nixon was born. He spent his early childhood in the small home until the family ranch failed in 1922, forcing the family to move.

When initial plans to build the Nixon Library at his alma mater, Duke University, failed because of protests, plans were moved to the family property in California. Nixon’s childhood home was on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1990, the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace was dedicated before a crowd of 50,000 guests and Presidents H.W. Bush, Ford, and Reagan.

But for the first time since Roosevelt, the National Archives and Records Administration did not initially operate the library.

After the infamous Watergate Scandal, Nixon resigned in 1974, shortly after he was inaugurated to his second term. The 1955 Presidential Libraries Act mandated that all presidential materials belonged to the federal government through the National Archives. But Nixon agreed that the tape recordings of his Oval Office meetings surrounding Watergate would be destroyed at a future date.

Congress rushed to pass the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act. The Act was specifically written to preserve Nixon’s presidential materials – the tapes he desperately wanted destroyed. But it inspired the 1978 Presidential Records Act that now applies to all presidents.

In 2004, Congress passed legislation amending the original act targeting Nixon’s presidential materials. 30,000 presidential gifts, millions of documents, and the infamous tapes were transferred from the National Archives to the Nixon Library. The next year, the Nixon Foundation invited the National Archives and Records Administration to operate the site jointly.

It was renamed the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

The 52,000-square-foot facility preserves the presidential records. Exhibit galleries in the museum display documents and artifacts. The campus also includes an exact replica of the East Room of Nixon’s White House as an event space, an intriguing place to spend an evening. But my favorite feature of the 6-acre campus is the VH-3A “Sea King” helicopter used by Nixon while president.

A modest admission fee is required to explore the library, museum, and childhood home.

Address | 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda, CA 92886 Phone | 714-993-5075 Website | www.nixonfoundation.org

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is in Yorba Linda, a suburb southeast of Los Angeles, California .

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the best way to fly into the area. The airport is serviced by dozens of airlines from around the world. Although the airport is connected to public transportation and ride-sharing, renting a car is more affordable.

The Fullerton Amtrak station is 6 miles from the presidential library. The enclosed building is staffed and features restrooms and a waiting room. The station is on two routes. The Pacific Surfliner route connects San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The Southwest Chief connects Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Los Angeles.

Driving to the presidential library is moderately easy because it’s almost 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Interstates 5, 10, and 15 pass closely to the presidential library.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is the only presidential library separated from the companion presidential museum. The reason behind this distinction is simple but interesting.

In 1965, Representative Gerald R. Ford began donating his congressional papers to the Bentley Historical Society at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, in Ann Arbor, Michigan . Because he had already selected the university to house his congressional papers, he donated his presidential papers to a library built on the university’s campus.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library opened in 1981.

The 50,000-square-foot library’s collection includes 25 million documents, over 3,000 hours of motion picture film, and 450,000 photos. The collection also contains papers from Betty Ford.

There is no admission fee at the library. Although the museum is in Grand Rapids, the library has a small exhibit space with public events.

Address | 1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Phone | 734-205-0555 Website | www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/visit-library.aspx

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is in Ann Arbor, Michigan , a popular tourism destination near Detroit and Toledo .

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is a mid-sized airport about 20 miles from Ann Arbor. The airport is serviced by over a dozen, including Delta, American, United, Southwest, and Air Canada. The airport is too far from Ann Arbor for public transportation, requiring you to get a rental car.

Ann Arbor is along Interstate 94 between Detroit and Grand Rapids. About 15 miles from Ann Arbor, I-94 intersects I-75, one of the primary interstates in the eastern United States.

To understand why the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is separate from the presidential library, you must understand Ford’s tragic childhood.

In 1913, Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska. Ford’s parents, Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Gardner, separated just 16 days after his birth after King threatened to kill her and Ford. She fled to Illinois and eventually settled at her parents’ house in Grand Rapids, Michigan .

In 1917, Gardner married Gerald R. Ford, a local salesman. Her young son was renamed Gerald R. Ford, Jr., though his stepfather never formally adopted him. Ford grew up in Grand Rapids and left for the University of Michigan.

In 1981, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum opened in his hometown. The architecturally gorgeous building features a unique triangular design with the 300-foot-long east side, comprised entirely of glass, and overlooks the Grand River. The museum is part of a 20-acre park along the river that includes the Grand Rapids Public Museum and a Riverwalk.

The museum’s exhibits tell Ford’s story of a one-term presidency after he was sworn in following Nixon’s resignation. There is a modest admission fee for exploring the museum, which takes about 1-2 hours.

Address | 303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Phone | 616-254-0400 Website | www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/visit-museum.aspx

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is in Grand Rapids, Michigan , near Lake Michigan. It’s a beautiful place for a road trip from spring through autumn, but winter travel can be difficult.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is about 10 miles outside the city. Some airlines that service the airport include Delta, American, United, Southwest, and Allegiant Air. The airport is connected to public transportation, rideshares, and car rentals.

Interstate 96 is the only major highway through Grand Rapids. The interstate connects Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Detroit. Driving to Grand Rapids is more time-consuming because of the fewer highways, but not more difficult.

Near the end of President Jimmy Carter’s one term, he raised the issue of building a presidential library for his vast collection of presidential materials. Although Carter was born in Plains, Georgia – where the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park is located – the library committee chose a site in Atlanta.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1986. The library’s collection includes 40 million documents, 1 million photos, and over 2 million feet of motion picture film. The archivists are still cataloging the collection and making records available to the public.

While the library has almost 20,000 feet of storage space for the vast collection, the museum covers about 15,000 square feet. Permanent and temporary exhibit galleries go beyond the story of Carter’s presidency – the exhibits also include his lifelong work as a humanitarian and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

The museum also features a full-size replica of Carter’s Oval Office, a recreation of a Camp David cabin’s interior, and the “Day in the Life of the President” presentation.

A modest admission fee is required for the museum. Visitors can explore the stunning grounds of the library and museum campus without a fee.

Address | 441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 Phone | 404-865-7100 Website | www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum is just east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia . It’s an easy destination to fly, ride a train, or drive into. But this is the city where a piece of debris fell off a dump truck and broke my windshield.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is simultaneously a thrilling and overwhelming airport to travel. It’s one of the primary hubs for air travel, making it the busiest airport in the country. Travelers can rent a car, hire a rideshare, or use the Atlanta SkyTrain to travel anywhere in the city.

The Peachtree Amtrak station is north of downtown Atlanta. The enclosed building has restrooms, staff, and a waiting room. The station is on the Crescent route connecting New York, Atlanta, and New Orleans.

Atlanta is also a hub for highway travel in the southeastern United States. Interstates 20, 75, and 85 intersect in the city. These interstates spread across the country, making it easy to drive to Atlanta. The presidential library is conveniently located along the John Lewis Freedom Parkway.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan hosted a representative of the Hoover Institution at the White House, where he formally accepted their offer to host a presidential library on the Stanford University campus. But, like Nixon’s plans at Duke University, Reagan’s plans for Stanford were derailed.

In 1987, the planned site at Stanford University was replaced by a neutral location in Simi Valley, California , about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Ironically, Reagan’s presidential library is 60 miles from Nixon’s.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opened in 1991. The library’s collections include 50 million documents, almost 2 million photos, and 500,000 feet of motion picture film. Reagan’s papers from his tenure as California’s governor were transferred from Stanford University to the presidential library.

After he died in 2004, Reagan’s body was interred at the presidential library. Nancy was interred with him when she died in 2016.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is the only presidential museum housing Air Force One. The Boeing 707, also designated the Boeing VC-137C, dominates the enclosed Air Force One Pavilion. It’s a rare and fascinating opportunity to board Air Force One.

Other permanent exhibits include an F-117 Nighthawk, an M-1 Abrams Tank, Marine One, a full-size replica of Reagan’s Oval Office, and a section of the Berlin Wall. It’s one of the largest museum displays of any presidential site – plan to spend at least half a day exploring everything.

The modest admission fee includes the vast campus and self-guided tour through the museum.

Address | 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley, CA 93065 Phone | 805-522-2977 Website | www.reaganfoundation.org/library-museum

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is in Simi Valley, north of the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles, California . Getting to Los Angeles is easy – but getting to the presidential library requires big-city driving skills.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the best way to fly into the area. The airport is serviced by dozens of airlines from around the world. Although the airport is connected to public transportation and ride shares, renting a car is more affordable.

The nearest Amtrak station is Moorpark a few miles away. The station is only a shelter with no facilities. Getting a ride share from the train station to the presidential library is easy. The station is on the Pacific Surfliner route connecting San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Interstate 5 is about 30 miles west of the presidential library. The 118 Freeway effortlessly connects the interstate and the library – depending on the time of day.

Shortly after President George H.W. Bush took office, he was approached by Texas A&M University alum and friend Michel T. Halbouty about the location of his presidential library. Bush agreed, and 90 acres were set aside for the future presidential site in College Station, Texas .

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1997.

President Bush died in 2018. After a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral, Bush’s body was transported by a funeral train to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. He was interred alongside Barbara – she died earlier that same year – and their daughter, Pauline Robinson Bush.

The library’s collection includes 44 million documents and thousands of artifacts from his lengthy political career. The 17,000-square-foot museum features permanent and temporary exhibit galleries.

After a 2007 renovation, the museum features a replica of Bush’s Oval Office. But unlike replicas in other presidential museums, visitors to the Bush Presidential Museum can walk into the replica and sit behind the desk in “The Seat of Power.”

The impressive museum features exhibits about Bush’s career, state gifts, a recreation of his Camp David office, and thousands of artifacts. It takes about 3-4 hours to explore the museum casually – so prepare to spend at least half a day.

A modest admission fee is required to tour the museum. There is no charge for exploring the grounds and visiting the Bush Family gravesite.

Address | 1000 George Bush Drive West, College Station, TX 77845 Phone | 979-691-4010 Website | www.bush41.org

Despite the large university in College Station, Texas , the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is one of the most remote in the country.

The nearest airport is George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), about 70 miles southeast in Houston. The airport is serviced by United, American, Delta, Southwest, Spirit, and Air Canada. Rental cars are available.

There are no nearby Amtrak stations.

The nearest interstate is I-45, which is about 45 miles away. You can also use I-35 in Waco, about 75 miles from College Station.

Planning for President Bill Clinton’s presidential library began shortly after his election to a second term in office. The site was an obvious choice – 17 acres along the Arkansas River in Little Rock. Arkansas is Clinton’s home state, where he served as governor before he was elected President of the United States.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum opened on a rainy day in 2004 before a crowd of 30,000, Bono’s performance, and Clinton’s speech.

An interesting way of measuring the sheer enormity of the library’s collections is by tonnage. Eight Lockheed C-5 Galaxy planes – the largest in the United States military – transported over 600 tons of presidential materials.

The Clinton library is one of my favorites because the president wanted it filled with natural light. The five-story main building is narrow and long, modeled after the Long Room at the Old Library of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The most interesting thing about the building is the private rooftop golf course.

The museum features permanent and temporary exhibition galleries. The permanent exhibits include interactive displays interpreting Clinton’s history from his time as governor and president. Like many other presidential museums, there is a full-size replica of Clinton’s Oval Office. But unlike the others, there is also a full-size replica of Clinton’s Cabinet Room.

The Clinton Presidential Park Bridge is my favorite part of this library and museum. Built in 1899, it was restored as a pedestrian-only bridge in 2011. The 15-mile Arkansas River Trail crosses the bridge, although there is nothing to see or do on the other side of the river.

A modest admission fee is required for the museum. But, visitors can explore the 17-acre riverfront park and walk across the pedestrian bridge without a charge.

Address | 1200 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201 Phone | 501-370-8000 Website | www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-presidential-center/#

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is conveniently located in Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas .

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT) is a mid-sized airport serviced by American Airlines, Delta, Southwest Airlines, United, and Allegiant Air. The airport connects to public transportation, ride shares, and rental cars.

Union Station opened in 1921, the third passenger train station in Little Rock. The Amtrak station is on the Texas Eagle route, a lengthy route connecting Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio, extending to Los Angeles.

Interstates 30 and 40 intersect in Little Rock. This is the north terminus of I-30 that connects Dallas and Little Rock. I-40 crosses the country from Wilmington , North Carolina to Barstow, California , making it easy to drive to Little Rock.

Where to Stay

Before George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States, officials at Baylor University courted him to build his presidential library on their campus. Unlike previous presidential libraries built in places with personal connections to the president, Bush solicited bids from universities and cities to host his presidential site.

In 2008, plans were announced to build the presidential library on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas . The George W. Bush Presidential Center opened in 2013.

In 2023, the Bush Presidential Center became the first presidential library and museum since Hoover not to be operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Although the presidential center is operated by the George W. Bush Foundation, NARA has input on exhibits and retains ownership of all presidential materials.

The 207,000-square-foot presidential library is the second-largest after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Permanent exhibits include a full-size replica of Bush’s Oval Office, emotional exhibits about Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, and interactive exhibits exploring Bush’s presidency.

The moderate admission fee includes all exhibits in the museum. Parking in the visitor parking lot near the museum is an additional $10 for the first four hours.

Address | 2943 SMU Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75205 Phone | 214-200-4300 Website | www.bushcenter.org

The Bush Center Visitor Parking is across SMU Boulevard near the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Parking costs $10 for the first 4 hours and $1 for each additional half hour.

The good and bad news about the George W. Bush Presidential Center is that it’s in Dallas, Texas . This is good because flying, riding a train, or driving to the presidential center is easy. But it’s bad because of how busy Dallas is year-round.

Dallas Love Field (DAL) is the closest airport. It’s a regional airport served by Southwest Airlines, Delta, and Alaska Airlines. The best airport in the area is Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), about 15 miles away. Some airlines that service DFW include American Airlines, Delta, United, Southwest Airlines, Spirit, and British Airways.

Both airports have connections to public transportation, ride shares, and rental cars.

The Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station is at the southern edge of downtown Dallas. The Amtrak station is on the Texas Eagle route, a lengthy route connecting Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio, extending to Los Angeles.

The presidential center is adjacent to U.S. Highway 74, north of downtown Dallas. Interstates 20, 30, 35E, and 45 intersect in Dallas, making it easy to travel from almost anywhere in the country to the big city.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• share this article

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Jason Barnette | All rights reserved | Seriously, don’t steal my stuff

Share this Article

Did you enjoy reading this article? If so, then share it with your friends. Sharing is caring, after all.

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president's campaign travel?

In any election year, there’s a fuzzy line between governing and campaigning

WASHINGTON -- It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.

President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania, a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.

Here's a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.

It's not cheap to fly the president's fleet.

The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn't long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.

But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.

New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes, and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system," a “self-defense system” and even “autonomous baggage loading.”

When the president flies for political purposes, the campaign is supposed to pay the bill. But during an election year, the line between governing and campaigning can be fuzzy.

For example, Biden held an official event Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he announced his proposal for higher tariffs on steel imported from China . The event, however, was a not-so-subtle opportunity for the president to rub shoulders with union members who are critical to his reelection, and he jabbed at Trump in his remarks. (At one point Biden joked that the former president was “busy right now,” a reference to the hush money trial that recently got underway in New York.)

It's up to the White House counsel's office to figure out what percentage of the president's travels are campaign related. That determines how much the federal government should be reimbursed by the Biden campaign. Sometimes the calculations aren't straightforward, such as when the White House adds an official event to an otherwise political trip.

Norm Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama , said both Republicans and Democrats have usually hewed closely to regulations.

“We had a set of rules on how to do the allocations," he said. "They’re intricate, and we stuck to them.”

No matter what, taxpayers end up on the hook for most of the cost. Campaigns do not pay for all the Secret Service agents and the rest of the security apparatus. In fact, they usually only cover the cost of Air Force One passengers who are flying for explicitly political purposes — sort of like buying a ticket on a particularly exclusive private jet.

Biden's campaign and his joint fundraising committee have been stockpiling travel cash in an escrow account maintained by the Democratic National Committee. From January 2023 until the end of last month, they deposited nearly $6.5 million.

Some of that money goes to general campaign logistics, such as staff expenses and advance work. The account is also used to reimburse the federal government for official aircraft used to transport the president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman when they travel for the reelection effort.

So far, not much money has found its way back to the U.S. Treasury. As of the latest data available, just $300,000 has been provided.

It's safe to assume that Biden's campaign will end up forking over much more than that once the campaign is over. Trump's team reimbursed the federal government nearly $4.7 million for travel expenses during the 2020 race.

But Biden probably won't have trouble covering his bills. His campaign and the DNC had more than $192 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Top Stories

Could a president stage a coup? And 9 more key moments from Trump's immunity hearing

• Apr 25, 3:18 PM

5 takeaways from historic Supreme Court arguments on Trump's immunity claim

• Apr 25, 4:06 PM

Walmart US CEO talks inflation, self-checkout, and non-college degree workers

• Apr 25, 7:51 PM

What witnesses said about Trump's handling of classified info while president

• Apr 24, 4:58 PM

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death

• Apr 24, 2:55 PM

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

Miles with McConkey

What Are the Most Fascinating Presidential Sites To Visit?

Posted: February 6, 2024 | Last updated: February 6, 2024

Presidents Day is almost here. Sadly, our enthusiasm for red hearts and green beer often overshadows the holiday honoring our former leaders. For those who love history or politics, it is an excellent time to plan a trip to a presidential site.

America has many presidential places, including monuments, memorials, homes, and libraries. We will outline some of the top patriotic places to visit. Some honor more recent presidents, while others focus on our early history. Regardless of your political allegiance, these vacation destinations offer many opportunities to explore our rich history and have fun adventures.

First, here is a brief background of how the celebration has evolved.

What is the History of Presidents Day?

According to the National Archives , Congress declared February 22, George Washington's birthday, a federal holiday in 1885. The Uniform Holiday Law 1971, which aimed to give workers more three-day weekends, changed the observation date to the third Monday of February. 

Because the holiday regularly occurred between the birthdays of Washington and Abraham Lincoln, people began to refer to it as Presidents Day. Today, the holiday is considered a time to honor all United States presidents, past and present.

When Is Presidents Day 2024?

The holiday falls on the third Monday in February. This year, we observe the holiday on February 19, 2024.

Let's explore the top presidential sites for you to visit. Remember, while Presidents Day inspires us to honor our leaders and legends, you can see these iconic destinations anytime. 

Mount Rushmore

South Dakota's most popular attraction, Mount Rushmore , showcases the 60-foot-tall faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Walk the Avenue of Flags to the aptly named Grand View Terrace. You gain unique alternative viewpoints by walking the Presidential Trail. 

The Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center digs into the sculpture's history, functioning as a museum with historical artifacts and photos. Stay for the Evening Lighting Ceremony for an inspirational program and to see the memorial illuminated. Beyond the iconic landmark, the Black Hills region harbors beautiful scenery and exotic wildlife, yielding picturesque hikes and scenic drives.

Washington, DC

Our nation's capital abounds with American history and presidential places to visit. The White House immediately springs to mind for most visitors. Other popular sites include the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and Ford's Theatre.

The good news is that most essential monuments and memorials sit on or near the National Mall. Washington, DC , also comprises many free museums to explore around the National Mall. You can cover nearly all aspects of our nation's history in one area. With a 13-mile drive south, you can visit Mount Vernon, the historic home of George and Martha Washington.

Although the monuments may not be larger-than-life like those at Washington, DC, or Mount Rushmore, Rapid City is called the "City of Presidents" for a reason. The South Dakota town has life-sized statues of nearly all our former presidents scattered throughout its downtown area.

The quest to find all the presidents is especially engaging for children. In between all those selfies, kids will learn a lot about our nation's history. Rapid City comprises many unique shops and eateries to explore along the way. It is a half-hour drive from Mount Rushmore, a perfect way to spend an entire day hanging out with the presidents.

Ohio Presidential Trail

The Buckeye State is home to eight presidents: William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Harrison lived in Ohio when elected, while the others were born in the state. Accordingly, Ohio is affectionately called the "Birthplace of Presidents" or the "Mother of Presidents." 

Visitors can explore Ohio's history by road trip along the Ohio Presidential Trail. Sites honor each president with ties to the state. Be sure to visit the First Ladies' National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio, where you can explore the legacy of our first ladies.

Springfield, Illinois

The "Land of Lincoln" comprises many historic sites honoring one of our most famous presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Visitors can tour the first and only home Lincoln owned, his tomb, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Take a selfie with the 30-foot tall rail splitter statue, portraying a young ax-wielding Lincoln without his trademark beard. Travelers will find plenty of fascinating Route 66 history to explore as well.

Considered an architectural masterpiece, Monticello, or "Little Mountain" in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the home of Thomas Jefferson, our third president and author of the Declaration of Independence. It is a National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Visitors can tour the house, gardens, and grounds or walk the Saunders-Monticello Trail with stunning views of forests and mountains.

The famous Massachusetts city abounds with American history, including popular stops along the iconic Freedom Trail like Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Old South Meeting House, Paul Revere House, and Old North Church.

For presidential history, visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Highlights include a recreation of the Oval Office during Kennedy's presidency and exhibits on the United States Space Program. Other unique exhibits feature artifacts from Kennedy's campaign and memorabilia from First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

The vibrant Georgia city houses the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, where visitors can learn about our longest-living president. Unique artifacts include his Nobel Prize and gifts from foreign heads of state. Visitors can see what a "Day in the Life of a President" is like by monitoring 13-foot-tall screens within a rotunda. You can walk through replicas of Camp David and the Oval Office. An interactive map virtually takes you across the globe to monitor elections, fight diseases, and perform other presidential duties.

Drive 145 miles south to Plains, where you can visit the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park and the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm. Families traveling with children can see the LEGO Discovery Center Atlanta to give the kids a break before heading to Plains.

Simi Valley, California

Forty miles from downtown Los Angeles, Simi Valley harbors the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The Air Force One Pavilion takes you aboard the aircraft that flew President Reagan for global diplomacy meetings. Other exhibits cover his early years, ranching days, inauguration, and the assassination attempt on his life.

Visitors can explore his focus on defense while seeing an F-14 Tomcat, M-1 Abrams Tank, and F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. Be sure to visit the Oval Office replica and the popular Berlin Wall exhibit, which contains a section of the fallen wall.

College Station

The eastern Texas city is home to Texas A&M University. That same campus contains the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Guests can see symbols of the presidency, including a large crystal presidential seal and a presidential limo. Be sure to explore family memorabilia that shaped the lives of the President and First Lady Barbara Bush.

Visitors can find out what it feels like to sit behind the president's desk in the "seat of power" and read a speech from the teleprompter in the press room. Other popular exhibits explore the impact of World War II on Bush and his time as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). An entire exhibit highlights Barbara Bush's efforts to promote literacy, volunteerism, and AIDS awareness. 

A Presidential Site in the Making

The Barack Obama Presidential Center is currently under construction in Chicago. Obama's vision is to create a welcoming campus where people from all walks of life can get inspired, find common ground, and take positive action.

The museum will honor the lives and legacy of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Many Americans are anxious to discover what the museum will cover from the historic presidency. So far, we know that the museum will include galleries focusing on stories of change. Its top floor will house a Sky Room with sweeping views of beautiful Lake Michigan on one side and towering downtown skyscrapers on the other. The center is scheduled to open in 2025.

Plan Your Presidential Trip

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or affiliated with any other political party, the United States has many presidential sites where you can learn about our history and honor our presidents. Yes, we absolutely should celebrate love and don green apparel in between. This year, take advantage of the Presidents Day holiday. Plan a trip into the past that inspires a better tomorrow!

Featured image credit: jovannig via Deposit Photos

More Articles from Miles with McConkey

Guide to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC

Go Back in Time: 15 Places in History You Must Visit

More for You

Trump campaign accused of breaking federal law by hiding millions in legal payments

A woman said her tattoos got her rejected for a job, but experts say personality is far more important

The best college on the East Coast is not Harvard, according to data. See the top 50.

I'm abrosexual - it took me 30 years to realise

People Who Don’t Show Empathy Usually Have These 18 Traits

Should you leave your laptop plugged in all the time?

Why You Should Think Twice Before Pouring Boiling Water Over Ant Hills In Your Yard

15 High-Maintenance Luxury Cars That Will Drain Your Wallet

Minecraft: Best Food Sources

Four protesters arrested at BP conference

The most expensive state to live in isn't California or New York, based on data. Here are the top 10.

If you use any of these 4 phrases you have higher emotional intelligence than most

Scientists finally confirm what lies inside the Moon

Steelers make notable decision on QB Justin Fields

A Ukraine-born congresswoman voted no on aid. Her hometown feels betrayed.

What I Learned Working With White Men in Corporate America

Best Mods For Dragon’s Dogma

Remove A Tree Stump With One Common Household Ingredient

The 50 best conservative places to live in America today, according to data

Use these 7 phrases to make new friends at any age, says psychologist and expert in human connection

• Entertainment
• KSAT Insider
• Newsletters

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president's campaign travel?

Chris Megerian

Associated Press

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, March 11, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Bidens travel while he runs for a second term. Its part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

WASHINGTON – It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.

President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania , a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.

Recommended Videos

Here's a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It's not cheap to fly the president's fleet.

The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn't long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.

But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.

New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes , and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system," a “self-defense system” and even “autonomous baggage loading.”

WHO PAYS FOR THE TRAVEL?

When the president flies for political purposes, the campaign is supposed to pay the bill. But during an election year, the line between governing and campaigning can be fuzzy.

For example, Biden held an official event Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he announced his proposal for higher tariffs on steel imported from China. The event, however, was a not-so-subtle opportunity for the president to rub shoulders with union members who are critical to his reelection, and he jabbed at Trump in his remarks. (At one point Biden joked that the former president was “busy right now,” a reference to the hush money trial that recently got underway in New York.)

It's up to the White House counsel's office to figure out what percentage of the president's travels are campaign related. That determines how much the federal government should be reimbursed by the Biden campaign. Sometimes the calculations aren't straightforward, such as when the White House adds an official event to an otherwise political trip.

Norm Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama, said both Republicans and Democrats have usually hewed closely to regulations.

“We had a set of rules on how to do the allocations," he said. "They’re intricate, and we stuck to them.”

No matter what, taxpayers end up on the hook for most of the cost. Campaigns do not pay for all the Secret Service agents and the rest of the security apparatus. In fact, they usually only cover the cost of Air Force One passengers who are flying for explicitly political purposes — sort of like buying a ticket on a particularly exclusive private jet.

HOW MUCH HAS BIDEN PAID?

Biden's campaign and his joint fundraising committee have been stockpiling travel cash in an escrow account maintained by the Democratic National Committee. From January 2023 until the end of last month, they deposited nearly $6.5 million.

Some of that money goes to general campaign logistics, such as staff expenses and advance work. The account is also used to reimburse the federal government for official aircraft used to transport the president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman when they travel for the reelection effort.

So far, not much money has found its way back to the U.S. Treasury. As of the latest data available, just $300,000 has been provided.

It's safe to assume that Biden's campaign will end up forking over much more than that once the campaign is over. Trump's team reimbursed the federal government nearly $4.7 million for travel expenses during the 2020 race.

But Biden probably won't have trouble covering his bills. His campaign and the DNC had more than $192 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Biden to make stops in Syracuse, Westchester County Thursday. Why he is visiting NY

President Biden is set to make several stops across New York Thursday as he promotes federal funding for key economic priorities and rubs shoulders with prospective donors.

Biden will visit Syracuse to promote a preliminary agreement to provide a $6.1 billion federal cash infusion for Micron chip manufacturing plants in New York and Idaho . Micron in 2022 pledged to invest up to $100 billion in the Syracuse-area project, hailed as one of the largest memory chip plants to be built in the U.S.

The $6.1 billion investment comes from the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 legislative package designed in part to position the U.S. as a leader in chip manufacturing.

On Thursday in Central New York, Biden will "discuss how the CHIPS and Science Act and his Investing in America agenda are growing the economy and creating jobs in Central New York and communities across the country," White House Deputy Communications Director Jennifer Molina said on X Tuesday.

Biden will also attend a sold-out glitzy fundraiser in Westchester County that day, attended by Hollywood names like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, who own a home in the area.

The minimum price to attend is $3,300 for one person and $5,000 per couple. Top donors will shell out $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund to rank as hosts of the event.

Central and downstate New York have been regular stops for Biden in recent years as he's promoted various economic initiatives like Micron and a $20 billion investment in IBM plants in Poughkeepsie, Yorktown and Albany. He also touched down in the state to make campaign-style speeches in Valhalla last year, and at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers two nights before the 2022 midterm elections , during which New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was expected to face a tough election challenge from Republican opponent Lee Zeldin.

USA Today Network New York Politics Reporter Chris McKenna contributed reporting.

List of international trips made by presidents of the United States

•     40+ visits
•     30-39 visits
•     20-29 visits
•     15-19 visits
•     10-14 visits
•     5-9 visits
•     1-4 visits
•     No known visits

International trips made by presidents of the United States have become a valuable part of the United States ' interactions with foreign nations since such trips were first made in the early 20th century. Traveling abroad is one of the many duties of the president of the United States , leading the nation's diplomatic efforts through state visits , private meetings with foreign leaders or attending international summits . These are complicated undertakings that require months of planning along with a great deal of coordination and communication.

Early 20th century trips

Franklin d. roosevelt, harry s. truman, dwight d. eisenhower, john f. kennedy, lyndon b. johnson, richard nixon, gerald ford, jimmy carter, ronald reagan, george h. w. bush, bill clinton, george w. bush, barack obama, donald trump, table of destinations, external links.

In the 19th century, American social convention made international travel by the incumbent president taboo , though foreign travel by former presidents was acceptable. The most widely publicized trip of this nature was the 1877–79 world tour of Ulysses S. Grant . Domestic travel was regarded as a welcome opportunity for presidents to talk with the people who had elected them, but foreign travel was seen in an altogether different light. The general public did not want their president mingling with royalty, visiting grand palaces, or exchanging bows with kings and queens. [1] This taboo was broken in the early 20th century, as policy makers at the federal level began to reevaluate the nation's role in international affairs.

The first international presidential trip, Theodore Roosevelt 's 1906 visit to Panama , signaled a new era in how presidents conducted diplomatic relations with other countries. [2] Roosevelt's four immediate successors made at least one international trip while in office, cementing the acceptability of presidential global travel.

New transportation technologies also played a role in the changing patterns of presidential travel as well. Early in the 20th century, trips were made by steamship . When Woodrow Wilson traveled to Europe aboard the George Washington in 1918–19, the voyage took nine days. Forty years later, Dwight Eisenhower made the same trip by jet in nine hours. Jet aircraft enabled American presidents to travel the globe in ways that would have been impractical if not inconceivable before. [1] While Eisenhower was the first president to travel by jet (and the first to travel via helicopter as well), the first airplane trips by a sitting president were those of Franklin D. Roosevelt . He made multiple long-distance trips abroad by plane, each one an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II . Lyndon B. Johnson , who flew 523,000 miles aboard Air Force One while in office, made the first round-the-world presidential trip in December 1967.

The frequency and travel distance of presidential international travel has increased dramatically since George H. W. Bush became president in 1989. In 1990 the military version of the Boeing 747 , the VC-25 , was introduced for the use of the president. The planes have over 4,000 square feet (372   m 2 ) of floor space, a bedroom and a shower, and enough secure communications to allow the plane to be a reasonable place to run the country. The plane is accompanied by a heavy lift aircraft that carries the helicopters and the limousines. Presidents Bill Clinton (1993–2001) and George W. Bush (2001–2009) visited 72 and 73 countries respectively during their terms of office. All totaled, they went to 91 countries with a combined population of 85% of the world total. President Barack Obama (2009–2017) visited 58 countries. Presidential visits of over 10,000 miles (16,093   km) are common. A round the world trip was first done by Johnson and subsequently has been done by presidents Nixon and Bush. Trips to Europe and Asia are becoming almost routine in the 21st century.

With the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, the American Panama Canal Zone became a major staging area for the U.S. military and the U.S. became the dominant military power in Central America . [3] When Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Panama in November 1906 to inspect progress on the canal, he became the first U.S. president to leave the country while in office. [4] Subsequently, both William Howard Taft (in 1909) [5] and Warren G. Harding (in 1920) [6] visited Panama while each was the president-elect .

Taft and Harding each made one international trip while president. Taft and Mexican president Porfirio Díaz exchanged visits across the Mexico–United States border , at El Paso, Texas , and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua , in October 1909. While filled with much symbolism, the meetings did pave the way for the start of construction on the Elephant Butte Dam project in 1911, even as Mexico fell into revolution . [7] Harding made an official visit to Vancouver , British Columbia , on July 27, 1923 (six days prior to his death). Greeted dock-side by the premier of British Columbia and the mayor of Vancouver , he was given a parade through the city to Stanley Park , where he spoke to an audience estimated at over 40,000. [8]

Woodrow Wilson made two international trips while in office. When he sailed for France in December 1918 for the Paris Peace Conference , he became the first sitting president to travel to Europe. [9] He spent nearly seven months in Europe, interrupted by a brief nine-day return to the U.S. in late February 1919. [10] Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. [11] While in Rome , he met with Pope Benedict XV ; this was the first meeting between an incumbent American president and a reigning pope. [12]

Calvin Coolidge traveled to Havana , Cuba, in January 1928, where he addressed the Sixth International Conference of American States . There, he extended an olive branch to Latin American leaders embittered over America's interventionist policies in Central America and the Caribbean . It was the only time in his life that he traveled outside the contiguous United States . [13] [14]

The most recent president not to make any international trips during his time in office was Herbert Hoover (1929–33). He did, however, undertake an extensive ten-week tour of Latin America during the time he was president-elect. [15] He delivered 25 speeches in 10 countries, almost all of which stressed his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor." [16] [17]

Franklin D. Roosevelt made 20 international trips during his presidency. [18] His early travels were by ship, frequently for fishing vacations to the Bahama Banks , Canadian Maritimes or Newfoundland Island . In 1943 he became the first incumbent president to fly by airplane across the Atlantic Ocean during his secret mission to Casablanca. As a result of this trip, he also became the first president to visit North Africa while in office.

Harry S. Truman made five international trips during his presidency. [19] Three months after ascending to the presidency, Truman made his only trans-Atlantic trip as president to participate in talks concerning how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany , which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier ( V-E Day ). He also visited neighboring Bermuda, Canada and Mexico, plus Brazil in South America . Truman only left the continental United States on two other occasions (to Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , Cuba, February 20-March 5, 1948; and to Wake Island , October 11–18, 1950) during his nearly eight years in office. [20]

Dwight D. Eisenhower made 16 international trips during his presidency. [21] He also traveled abroad once while president-elect , visiting South Korea in December 1952, fulfilling a campaign pledge to investigate what might get stalled Korean War peace talks moving forward. [22] By the time he left office in January 1961, Eisenhower had visited 26 countries.

Columbine II , one of four propeller-driven aircraft introduced to presidential service during Eisenhower's first term in office, was the first plane to bear the call sign Air Force One . This designation for the U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the incumbent president was established after an incident in 1953, when Eastern Air Lines 8610, a commercial flight, crossed paths with Air Force 8610, which was carrying President Eisenhower. Initially used informally, the designation became official in 1962. [23] [24]

In 1959, the Air Force added the first of three specially built Boeing 707 -120 jet aircraft — VC-137s , designated SAM (Special Air Missions) 970, 971 and 972—into the fleet. [25] The high-speed jet technology built into these aircraft enabled presidents from Eisenhower through Nixon to travel long distances more quickly for face-to-face meetings with world leaders. [26] That year he journeyed to Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, Middle East, and Southern Asia. On his "Flight to Peace" goodwill tour in December 1959, the president visited 11 nations, flying 22,000 miles (35,000   km) in 19 days aboard the VC-137 SAM970.

John F. Kennedy made eight international trips during his presidency. [27] Two of these were to Europe, and the other six were to various nations in the Western Hemisphere. His second trip to Europe included the famous speech Ich bin ein Berliner at the Berlin Wall, the visit of the first Catholic president to Vatican City, plus the visit to Kennedy's ancestral home in Ireland . First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy traveled with him on his 1961 visit to France and received such a popular reaction there that the president quipped "I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris   – and I have enjoyed it!" [28] [29]

Lyndon B. Johnson made 11 international trips during his presidency. [30] He flew 523,000 miles aboard Air Force One while in office. Eschewing Europe in favor of Southeast Asia and Latin America. One of the most unusual international trips in presidential history occurred before Christmas in 1967. The president began the trip by going to the memorial service for Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt , who had disappeared in a swimming accident and was presumed drowned. The White House did not reveal in advance to the press that the president would make the first round-the-world presidential trip. The trip was 26,959 miles completed in 112.5 hours (4.7 days). The trip crossed the equator twice, stopped in Travis Air Force Base, California, then Honolulu, Pago Pago, Canberra, Melbourne, Vietnam, Karachi and Rome.

Richard M. Nixon made 15 international trips during his presidency. [31] He made the unusual move of going on a week-long trip to Europe only five weeks after his inauguration. Nixon's 1972 visit to China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of cordial relations between the U.S. and China . He also made groundbreaking trips to various Communist-ruled nations as well, including: Romania (1969), Yugoslavia (1970), Poland (1972), and the Soviet Union (1972 and 1974). In 1972 Nixon received delivery of the second custom outfitted jet to be used as Air Force One, VC-137C SAM 27000 .

Gerald Ford made seven international trips during his presidency. [32] Ford made the first visit of a sitting president to Japan, and followed it with a trip to the Republic of Korea and the Soviet Union (to attend the Vladivostok Summit ).

Jimmy Carter made 12 international trips to 25 countries during his presidency. [33] Carter was the first president to make a state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa when he went to Nigeria in 1978. His travel included five trips to Europe and three trips to Asia. He also made several trips to the Middle East to broker peace negotiations. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. [34] In 1978, he travelled to Panama City to sign a protocol confirming exchange of documents ratifying the Panama Canal treaties .

Ronald Reagan made 25 international trips to 26 countries during his presidency. [35] He made seven trips to continental Europe, three to Asia and one to South America. He is perhaps best remembered for his speeches at the 40th anniversary of the Normandy landings , for his impassioned speech at the Berlin Wall , his summit meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev , and riding horses with the Queen at Windsor Park.

Reagan's presidency would be transitional in international travel. During his term in office, he ordered the two special mission Boeing VC-25 that would become the new presidential transport to replace the aging Boeing 707s. Heavy lift aircraft could bring security, limousines, and helicopters. After that time, the president had access to inflight bedrooms and showers, boardrooms, and communication equipment and with refueling virtually unlimited range. Summit meetings would proliferate, and international travel would become more of a constant expectation of the presidency.

George H. W. Bush made 26 international trips to 58 countries during his presidency. [36] He initiated the frequent international travel pace that is the hallmark of the post–Cold War presidency. He went to Europe eleven times, Asia twice, and South America once, along with a number of shorter trips during his four years in office.

Bill Clinton made 54 trips to 72 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank and Gaza ) during his presidency. [37] He made 24 trips to continental Europe , seventeen to Asia , two to Africa and to Australia . His others were to nations in the Americas . He took an active role in the Balkans , where he worked to promote peace and stability in and around the former Yugoslavia , and in the Middle East peace process , where he worked to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians , as well as with the governments of neighboring nations.

George W. Bush made 49 trips to 73 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank ) during his presidency. [38] During the course of his first year in office alone, he took seven trips to seventeen countries. He visited six continents : Africa , Asia , Australia , Europe , North America , and South America . On one of his two trips to Sub-Saharan Africa , he visited three of the poorest countries in the world at the time: Liberia, Rwanda, and Benin. He also made a secret trip to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2003 to dine with the troops. His father had made a similar visit to the U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia in 1990. On November 15–20, 2006, Bush made the third round the world presidential flight (after Johnson and Nixon) when he went to Russia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Barack Obama made 52 trips to 58 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank) during his presidency. He set the record as the most-traveled president for any first year in office: he took the most trips, visited the most countries, and spent the most days abroad. Obama made ten trips to 21 countries (four countries were visited twice) and was out of the U.S. a total of 37 days. The one geopolitical region that he never visited was Central Asia ; this region has never been visited by a sitting U.S. president. [39]

In December 2010, he made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, where he visited with U.S. troops. The surprise trip came as the U.S. and NATO withdraw most of their forces from that country ahead of a year-end deadline. In November 2012 he visited Myanmar, where he bolstered the reforms undertaken by that nation's military-backed government. [40] In March 2016, he made a historic trip to Cuba to underscore the thaw in Cuba–United States relations following a 54-year rift.

Donald Trump made 19 international trips to 24 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank) during his presidency. His 2018 Singapore Summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was the first-ever meeting between an incumbent U.S. president and a leader of North Korea. One year later, in June 2019, Trump also became the first U.S. president to cross over the Korean Demilitarized Zone and enter North Korea while in office. In December 2018, he made an unannounced Christmas trip to Iraq, where he visited with U.S. troops. Nearly a year later, in November 2019, he made an unannounced Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan, where he visited with U.S. troops.

Joe Biden has made 16 international trips to 23 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank) since his presidency began on January 20, 2021. He made six trips abroad in 2022, including a September visit to the United Kingdom for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II . On February 20, 2023, he made an unannounced trip to Ukraine , where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine . [41]

Altogether, 20 U.S. presidents have traveled to at least one foreign country or dependent territory while in office.

• ↑ Algeria was ruled as an integral part of France at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1943 and 1945. It became an independent sovereign state on July 5, 1962 following the Algerian War , the 1962 French Évian Accords referendum , and the 1962 Algerian independence referendum .
• ↑ Morocco was a French protectorate at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit in 1943. It became an independent sovereign state on April 7, 1956.
• ↑ Tunisia was a French protectorate at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1943. It became an independent sovereign state on March 20, 1956.
• ↑ French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa. It ceased to exist after the 1958 French constitutional referendum .
• ↑ The Gambia was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1943. It became an independent sovereign state on February 18, 1965 after passage of the Gambia Independence Act 1964 .
• ↑ The Bahamas was a colony of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy's visits. It became an independent sovereign state on July 10, 1973.
• ↑ The British Leeward Islands was a colony of the United Kingdom which was dissolved in 1958.
• ↑ Jamaica was a colony of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit in 1940. It became an independent sovereign state on August 6, 1962.
• ↑ Saint Lucia was a colony of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit in 1940. It became an independent sovereign state on February 22, 1979.
• ↑ Trinidad and Tobago was a colony of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1936 and 1943. It became an independent sovereign state on August 31, 1962 after passage of the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 .
• ↑ Newfoundland was a dominion of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1939 and 1940. It became a province of the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949, following the 1948 Newfoundland referendums . Its name was officially changed to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.
• ↑ Suriname was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time of Lyndon B. Johnson's visit in 1967. It became an independent sovereign state on November 25, 1975.
• ↑ South Vietnam merged with North Vietnam on July 2, 1976 to form a single country.
• 1 2 3 U.S. presidential visits made prior to December 26, 1991 to this former Soviet republic are listed under the Soviet Union.
• ↑ Czechoslovakia was split into the independent countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993.
• ↑ The Soviet Union was split into 15 independent countries in 1991.
• ↑ Name was changed from Macedonia to North Macedonia on February 12, 2019.
• ↑ Malta was a colony of the United Kingdom at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1943 and 1945. It became an independent sovereign state on September 21, 1964.
• ↑ Yugoslavia was broken up in 1991–1992.
• ↑ Germany was occupied by the Allies of World War II at the time of Harry S. Truman's visit in 1945. All subsequent visits by U.S. presidents have been made to the Federal Republic of Germany, which was known colloquially as " West Germany " from 1949 to 1990 during the post World War II West–East division of Germany . No incumbent U.S. president ever visited the German Democratic Republic (" East Germany ") during its existence in the same time frame.
• Foreign policy of the United States
• Foreign relations of the United States
• International relations
• List of diplomatic visits to the United States
• List of international trips made by secretaries of state of the United States
• List of meetings between the pope and the president of the United States

Related Research Articles

There have been 41 United States presidential visits to Canada by 14 presidents over the past century. As the U.S. president is both head of state and head of government, these visits have taken many forms, ranging from formal state visits to official visits, working visits, or private visits.

Fifteen presidents of the United States have made thirty-four presidential visits to Mexico . The first visit by an incumbent president to Mexico was made in 1909 by William Howard Taft. It was only the second time in U.S. history that a president left the country while in office.

Six United States presidents have made presidential visits to Sub-Saharan Africa . The first was an offshoot of Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretive World War II trip to French Morocco for the Casablanca Conference. More recently, Barack Obama, the first U.S. president with African American ancestry, visited his father's native Kenya in 2015. Of the 46 African nations identified as sub-Saharan by the United Nations, 14 have been visited by an American president.

Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to Eastern Europe and Northern Asia . The first trip by an incumbent president to Eastern Europe was made by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. The first trip by an incumbent president to Northern Asia was made by Gerald Ford in 1974, also to the Soviet Union, and was an offshoot of U.S.–Soviet Détente during the Cold War. The first presidential visits to other Eastern European countries occurred during this era of easing geo-political tensions as well.

Eleven United States presidents and three presidents-elect have made thirty-four presidential visits to Central America . The first visit by an incumbent president to a country in Central America was made in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt. The trip, to Panama, was the first international presidential trip in U.S. history, and signaled the start of a new era in how presidents conducted diplomatic relations with other countries. In 1928, Herbert Hoover, during the time when he was president-elect, visited the region during his historic "good will" trip, to Central and South America.

Nine presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to North Africa . The first trips by a sitting president to countries in North Africa were those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the five countries in the region, only Libya has not yet been visited by an American president.

Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to the Middle East . The first trips by an incumbent president to countries in the Middle East were those by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and were an offshoot of Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. To date, 16 visits have been made to Egypt, 12 to Saudi Arabia, 11 to Israel, six to both Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, four to Iran, three to the Palestinian Territories, two to both Kuwait and Syria, one to Bahrain, Georgia, Oman, Qatar, and to the United Arab Emirates. No incumbent American president has yet visited Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Eleven United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to South America . The first trip was made by Herbert Hoover in 1928. During this tour he delivered twenty-five speeches in ten Central and South American countries, almost all of which stressed his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor."

Nine United States presidents and one president-elect have made presidential visits to the Caribbean since 1928. Franklin D. Roosevelt made the most trips to the Caribbean islands (14), either for vacation or while involved with Allied diplomatic interactions during World War II. Of the 13 sovereign countries in the region, four—Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—have not as of yet been visited by an American president.

Eight presidents of the United States have made presidential visits to South Asia . The first trip by a sitting president to South Asia was by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. Of the eight countries in the region, only 4 of them have been visited by a sitting American president: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The other four countries, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, have never been visited by a sitting American president.

Ten United States presidents have made presidential visits to East Asia . The first presidential trip to a country in East Asia was made by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. Since then, all presidents, except John F. Kennedy, have traveled to one or more nations in the region while in office.

Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Southern Europe . Woodrow Wilson became the first incumbent president to visit a Southern European country in January 1919 in the aftermath of World War I. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions during World War II and then the Cold War.

Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Western Europe . The first visits by an incumbent president to countries in Western Europe were made in 1918 and 19 by Woodrow Wilson in the aftermath of World War I. He was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions following World War II and during the Cold War. To date, 40 visits have been made to France, 31 to Germany, 21 to Belgium, 11 to Switzerland, six to Austria, and five to the Netherlands. No president has yet visited Liechtenstein, Luxembourg or Monaco.

• ↑ "Teddy Roosevelt travels to Panama" . www.history.com . A+E Networks. August 21, 2018 [Originally published November 16, 2009] . Retrieved November 21, 2018 .
• ↑ Milkis, Sidney (October 4, 2016). "Theodore Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs" . Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Gould, Lewis L. (2011). The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (2nd   ed.). Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. p.   203. ISBN   978-0-7006-1774-6 .
• ↑ "William Howard Taft" . Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ "Warren G. Harding" . Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ "The Taft Diaz meeting: the first U.S. Presidential visit to Mexico" . Middelburg , Netherlands : Roosevelt Institute for American Studies . October 15, 2014 . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Belyk, Robert C. (January 17, 2017) [February–March 1988, The Beaver ]. "President Harding's Last Stand: Vancouver gave him a hero's welcome and then he sailed away and died" . Winnipeg, Manitoba: Canada's National History Society . Retrieved January 31, 2022 .
• ↑ Ambar, Saladin (October 4, 2016). "Woodrow Wilson: Foreign Affairs" . Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ "Woodrow Wilson" . Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1919" . nobelprize.org . Nobel Media AB. 2014 . Retrieved February 26, 2016 .
• ↑ McAuley, Joseph (September 4, 2015). "When presidents and popes meet: Woodrow Wilson and Benedict XV" . America: The Jesuit Review . New York City: America Press, Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Kim, Susanna (December 18, 2014). "Here's What Happened the Last Time a US President Visited Cuba" . ABC News . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Greenburg, David (October 4, 2016). "Calvin Coolidge: Foreign Affairs" . Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ "Herbert C. Hoover" . Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Hamilton, David E. (October 4, 2016). "Herbert Hoover: Foreign Affairs" . Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia . Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
• ↑ Deconde, Alexander (March 1950). "Herbert Hoover's Good Will Tour". Historian . 12 (2): 167–181. doi : 10.1111/j.1540-6563.1950.tb00106.x .
• ↑ "Travels of President Franklin D. Roosevelt" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Travels of President Harry S. Truman" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "President Truman's Travel logs" . The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum . Retrieved February 26, 2016 .
• ↑ "Travels of President Dwight D. Eisenhower" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "The Korean War" . Abilene, Kansas: Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
• ↑ "Original Air Force One will depart Arizona for Virginia, undergo further restoration" . Phoenix, Arizona: KTAR News – 92.3 FM. March 26, 2016 . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
• ↑ "Air Force One" . whitehousemuseum.org . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
• ↑ "First of 3 Jets for President and Top Aides Is Unveiled" . The New York Times . April 28, 1959 . Retrieved June 26, 2019 – via New York Times Archive.
• ↑ "Boeing VC-137B "Air Force One" . Seattle, Washington: The Museum of Flight . Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
• ↑ "Travels of President John F. Kennedy" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Nation: La Presidente" . Time . June 9, 1961. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008 . Retrieved June 2, 2010 .
• ↑ Blair, W. Grainger (June 3, 1961). "Just an Escort, Kennedy Jokes As Wife's Charm Enchants Paris; First Lady Wins Bouquets From Press -- She Also Has Brief Chance to Visit Museum and Admire Manet" . The New York Times . Retrieved November 16, 2015 .
• ↑ "Travels of President Lyndon B. Johnson" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Travels of President Richard M. Nixon" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Travels of President Gerald R. Ford" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Travels of President Jimmy Carter" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2002" . Nobel Foundation . Retrieved February 26, 2016 .
• ↑ "Travels of President Ronald Reagan" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ "Travels of President George H. W. Bush" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2011-11-09.
• ↑ "Travels of President William J. Clinton" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2011-10-16.
• ↑ "Travels of President George W. Bush" . U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian.
• ↑ Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, 113th Congress, 2nd Session (2014). The Development of Energy Resources in Central Asia (Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office . p.   32. Serial 113–160 . Retrieved February 25, 2020 . {{ cite report }} : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link ) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link )
• ↑ Einhorn, Bruce (November 13, 2014). "Obama Visits Myanmar, a Success Story That Has Soured" . Bloomberg Businessweek . Bloomberg L.P . Retrieved December 11, 2017 .
• ↑ Humphrey, Andrew; Moloney, Marita (February 20, 2023). "Biden makes surprise visit to Kyiv ahead of Ukraine war anniversary" . BBC News . Retrieved February 20, 2023 .
• ↑ "Travels Abroad of the President" . history.state.gov . Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State . Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
• Travels Abroad of the President , Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs , United States Department of State
• Going Global: Assessing Presidential Foreign Travel , Amnon Cavari and Micah Ables. Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya
• International Presidential Travel Cost Analyses Archive , National Taxpayers Union Foundation
• F. D. Roosevelt
• L. B. Johnson
• G. H. W. Bush
• Burial places
• Coats of arms
• Impeachment efforts
• Other offices held
• Ran for president
• Religious affiliation
• Slave owners
• Tie-breaking votes
• Time in office
• U.S. Senate bust collection
• Acting presidents
• Designated survivors
• Inaugurations
• Transitions
• Electoral College margin
• Popular vote margin
• Winner lost popular vote

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Paul Krugman

Can Biden Revive the Fortunes of American Workers?

By Paul Krugman

Opinion Columnist

Last week, employees at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted by almost three to one to join the United Automobile Workers. By the numbers, this wasn’t a big deal: It involved only a few thousand workers in an economy that employs almost 160 million people. But it was an important symbolic victory for a labor movement that even in its heyday never made significant inroads in the South.

And it’s not silly to imagine that historians will someday look back at the Chattanooga vote as a milestone on the road back to the more or less middle-class society America used to be.

Of course, we were never truly egalitarian. Even during the era of widely shared prosperity that followed World War II, many Americans, particularly people of color, were poor, and a few were very wealthy. But in terms of income and wealth we were a far less unequal nation than we are now. You can quantify this arc using statistical measures like the Gini coefficient or the ratio of top to bottom incomes. As someone who grew up in that era, I can also attest that America used to feel like a place in which most people lived in more or less the same material universe. It definitely doesn’t feel that way now.

The thing is, that relatively equal society didn’t evolve gradually. As Claudia Goldin — who received the Nobel Prize in economics last year — and Robert Margo showed in a famous 1992 paper titled “ The Great Compression ,” the relatively equal wage structure of the postwar era emerged quite suddenly in the 1940s. Wartime wage and price controls were an equalizing force, but the new equality persisted for decades after those controls were removed.

And the most likely explanation for the sudden but persistent move toward relative equality was something else that was sudden but persistent: the rise of labor unions, which by the late 1940s represented more than 30 percent of American workers, and remained powerful until the 1980s. Strong unions were a force for equality because they were a counterweight to both the market power of big business and the political power of big money. And the decline of unions, which still represented around a quarter of workers in 1980 but then fell off a cliff, was probably a major factor in the emergence of the new Gilded Age we live in now.

Why did unions decline? It’s tempting to assume that their diminishment was inevitable in the face of global competition and the falling share of manufacturing, their traditional stronghold, in employment. But other advanced economies are still strongly unionized — in Denmark and Sweden, for example, about two-thirds of workers are union members.

So what happened in America? The most plausible explanation is that beginning in the 1970s, employers became very aggressive in fighting unionization efforts and were empowered to do so by a political climate, especially after the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, in which Republicans were hostile to organized labor while Democrats were at best weakly in support.

Some existing unions — most famously the air traffic controllers — were broken. More important, unionization didn’t spread as America increasingly became a service economy. There was and is no fundamental economic reason giant employers like Walmart or Amazon couldn’t be mostly unionized. But they became giants in an era when employers were effectively free to pull out all the stops in blocking and, in some cases, persecuting union organizers.

Which brings us to the current moment, which may be an inflection point.

Right now there are two forces bolstering workers’ bargaining position. One is a tight labor market: We’ve just experienced the longest stretch of unemployment below 4 percent since the 1960s. This tight labor market is probably the main reason we’ve seen an “ unexpected compression ” of wages in recent years, with earnings rising much faster at the bottom than at the top.

The other is a shift in the political climate. President Biden, who joined a U.A.W. picket line in Michigan last September, is arguably the most pro-labor president since Harry Truman . This involves more than gestures. On Tuesday, for example, the Federal Trade Commission issued a ban on most noncompete clauses, which prevent a company’s employees from taking jobs with rival businesses; such clauses currently cover, roughly, an astonishing 30 million workers and have been a major force reducing labor market competition.

There’s a reason, then, that Biden has been getting early and enthusiastic endorsements from major unions, including the U.A.W. in January and, this week , the Building Trades Unions, which represents about three million workers in the United States and Canada.

But has American labor really turned a corner? Unfortunately, it’s easy to see how recent progress could be reversed. For one thing, that tight labor market might not persist. So far, the Biden economy has shrugged off all those confident predictions of recession, but that won’t always be the case.

And Biden could, of course, lose in November — and although Donald Trump portrays himself as a populist, his record shows that he’s anti-union.

So we won’t know for a while whether things are actually looking up for American workers.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Paul Krugman has been an Opinion columnist since 2000 and is also a distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He won the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on international trade and economic geography. @ PaulKrugman

Traffic tip for President Biden’s visit Thursday: Avoid I-81

• Updated: Apr. 25, 2024, 4:35 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 24, 2024, 12:35 p.m.

President Joe Biden's escort out of the city caused a traffic jam on Interstate 690, police said on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. (New York Department of Transportation)

• Anne Hayes | [email protected]

Syracuse, N.Y. — Drivers should seriously consider not using Interstate 81 Thursday afternoon to avoid closures and delays caused by President Biden’s visit to Syracuse.

Closures of parts of I-81 are expected to cause massive traffic delays.

Biden will visit Syracuse to talk about the CHIPS and Science Act that lured Micron Technology to Central New York. The speech is at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology.

Starting around noon until around 1:30 p.m. Thursday I-81 south with be closed from Route 481 to Franklin Street in Syracuse, said Sgt. Jack Keller, a State Police spokesperson. That’s 7.5 miles of the interstate.

I-81 North will be closed from I-690 to the Syracuse Airport exit from around 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., Keller said. That’s about 5 miles of the highway.

When Biden last visited Syracuse in October 2022, the president’s exit from the city caused massive traffic backups on I-690 West.

More on President Biden's visit

• Update: I-81 reopens as President Biden leaves Syracuse
• Joe Biden celebrates historic Micron deal in Syracuse while mourning slain officers
• Update: Biden meets with families of slain Syracuse-area police officers
• Live updates from Biden’s return to Syracuse: President departs on AF1 after ‘big-deal day’
• Biden visits Syracuse to celebrate Micron receiving 2nd-largest CHIPS subsidy in nation

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at [email protected] .

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

When It Comes to Government Planes and Political Trips, Who Pays for a President's Campaign Travel?

In any election year, there’s a fuzzy line between governing and campaigning

When It Comes to Government Planes and Political Trips, Who Pays for a President's Campaign Travel?

Luis M. Alvarez

FILE - President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, March 11, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The White House and the Democratic National Committee are splitting the cost of Biden’s travel while he runs for a second term. It’s part of a longstanding arrangement that prevents taxpayers from being stuck with the full bill for political trips. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.

President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania , a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.

Here's a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It's not cheap to fly the president's fleet.

The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn't long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)

Photos You Should See - April 2024

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.

But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.

New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes , and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system," a “self-defense system” and even “autonomous baggage loading.”

WHO PAYS FOR THE TRAVEL?

When the president flies for political purposes, the campaign is supposed to pay the bill. But during an election year, the line between governing and campaigning can be fuzzy.

For example, Biden held an official event Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he announced his proposal for higher tariffs on steel imported from China. The event, however, was a not-so-subtle opportunity for the president to rub shoulders with union members who are critical to his reelection, and he jabbed at Trump in his remarks. (At one point Biden joked that the former president was “busy right now,” a reference to the hush money trial that recently got underway in New York.)

It's up to the White House counsel's office to figure out what percentage of the president's travels are campaign related. That determines how much the federal government should be reimbursed by the Biden campaign. Sometimes the calculations aren't straightforward, such as when the White House adds an official event to an otherwise political trip.

Norm Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama, said both Republicans and Democrats have usually hewed closely to regulations.

“We had a set of rules on how to do the allocations," he said. "They’re intricate, and we stuck to them.”

No matter what, taxpayers end up on the hook for most of the cost. Campaigns do not pay for all the Secret Service agents and the rest of the security apparatus. In fact, they usually only cover the cost of Air Force One passengers who are flying for explicitly political purposes — sort of like buying a ticket on a particularly exclusive private jet.

HOW MUCH HAS BIDEN PAID?

Biden's campaign and his joint fundraising committee have been stockpiling travel cash in an escrow account maintained by the Democratic National Committee. From January 2023 until the end of last month, they deposited nearly $6.5 million.

Some of that money goes to general campaign logistics, such as staff expenses and advance work. The account is also used to reimburse the federal government for official aircraft used to transport the president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman when they travel for the reelection effort.

So far, not much money has found its way back to the U.S. Treasury. As of the latest data available, just $300,000 has been provided.

It's safe to assume that Biden's campaign will end up forking over much more than that once the campaign is over. Trump's team reimbursed the federal government nearly $4.7 million for travel expenses during the 2020 race.

But Biden probably won't have trouble covering his bills. His campaign and the DNC had more than $192 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation

Tags: Associated Press , politics , elections

America 2024

Health News Bulletin

Stay informed on the latest news on health and COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report.

Sign in to manage your newsletters »

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

You May Also Like

The 10 worst presidents.

U.S. News Staff Feb. 23, 2024

Cartoons on President Donald Trump

Feb. 1, 2017, at 1:24 p.m.

Photos: Obama Behind the Scenes

April 8, 2022

Photos: Who Supports Joe Biden?

March 11, 2020

‘A Rule for the Ages’

Lauren Camera April 25, 2024

Sale? Ban? What’s Next for TikTok?

Laura Mannweiler April 25, 2024

The Status of the Cases Against Trump

Lauren Camera and Kaia Hubbard April 25, 2024

Economy Slows in First Quarter

Tim Smart April 25, 2024

A ‘Fork in the Road’ for Democracy

Lauren Camera April 24, 2024

Johnson at Columbia: ’Stop the Nonsense’

Aneeta Mathur-Ashton April 24, 2024