The White House did not deny a Tuesday report that Donald Trump is considering replacing the press briefing room with an indoor pool, with Communications Director Steven Cheung saying “all options remain on the table.”
“America is rightly distrustful of the fake news media because they fabricate stories based off lies and sources who are not even privy to any type of information,” Cheung said in a statement to The New York Times. “All options remain on the table, and we will make an announcement when appropriate.”
Cheung’s comments coincided with a Times report from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, which claimed the president talked about moving the press corps from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room during one of his final meetings with then-Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Per the outlet, Trump had assured Leavitt it would be her “last legacy,” but the president’s suggestion did not move forward at the time.
However, this was allegedly not the first time Trump had floated the idea to Leavitt during his second term in the White House. According to the Times, Trump had told aides that he hoped to bring back the indoor pool built by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, potentially relocating the press corps to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The indoor pool had been converted into the press room in 1970 under President Richard Nixon.
Trump appeared to signal his pool plans back in September, when he took to Truth Social and posted a side-by-side image of the press room next to an indoor pool, with the caption, “Fake News Before, FDR Pool After.”
The Wall Street Journal had similar reporting last month, claiming Trump had “repeatedly” weighed moving the entire press corps out of the White House. Yet, at the time, the outlet reported that a senior official assured that Trump had no plans to relocate the press corps from the White House.
While the idea might not necessarily be a new one, it comes amid the vacancy of a White House Press Secretary and as Trump’s attacks against the press have increased. For example, just last week, Judge Timothy Kelly barred the Trump administration from reinstating its ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters accessing the White House grounds. And then, today, president blatantly warned White House reporter Andrew Feinberg to “be careful” during a tense Oval Office exchange.
Per the Times, as Trump’s frustrations with the media have mounted, his current advisers have encouraged him “to take drastic measures to punish journalists.”
A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
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