Donald Trump reportedly floated removing the White House press pool from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room and replacing the space with an indoor swimming pool. The idea came up in an Oval Office meeting with Karoline Leavitt in August, according to a report on Tuesday.
Trump told Leavitt the move could be her “last legacy.” Three sources familiar with the discussions said he raised the same proposal with her on multiple other occasions before she left the administration on Aug. 27.
Oval Office proposal
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported that Trump personally pitched the plan during the August meeting. The proposed change would remove reporters from the room that has long served as the center of White House press access and replace it with a pool.
Trump also said he wanted to restore the indoor pool installed for Franklin D. Roosevelt. Richard Nixon’s administration later covered that pool to make room for the press, leaving the briefing room in place.
Truth Social images
In September, Trump posted comparison images on Truth Social that labeled the current briefing room “Fake News” and showed a gold-adorned swimming pool labeled “FDR Pool.” Bill Pulte reportedly prepared a visual mock-up of the proposed pool.
The public posts added a visual layer to a proposal that had already been discussed privately. They also followed a broader dispute over press access, including Trump’s September ban on, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, before a federal judge ordered their access restored.
White House resistance
Trump’s advisers have historically resisted removing journalists from the White House because of logistical headaches and possible political fallout. Steven Cheung said, “All options remain on the table, and we will make an announcement when appropriate.”
The Justice Department later launched an antitrust investigation into the five major television networks after they temporarily suspended White House pool coverage in protest of the restrictions. Trump also told Andrew Feinberg in the Oval Office, “I don't know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” and called him a “sick person.”
Whether Trump will move ahead with removing reporters from the White House or turning the briefing room into a pool is still the open point left by the report, and the White House has not set out a timetable for any announcement.
