Trump Says He May Move the White House Press Corps to a 'Less Obnoxious Location' but Denies Swimming Pool Plan
President Donald Trump said he may move the reporters who cover the White House "to a less obnoxious location," while denying reports that he plans to replace the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with a restored indoor swimming pool, according to his post on Truth Social.
What Trump Said About the Press Room
"There is a Fake News report out there that I am going to remove the White House Press Room and bring back the old Swimming Pool, which lies directly underneath," Trump wrote, according to Newsweek. "Although I may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location, the old swimming pool will never be brought back. I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!"
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump had pitched his former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on moving journalists out of the briefing room, according to Al Jazeera, which said the proposal did not move forward during Leavitt's tenure. That tenure ended on Aug. 27, Al Jazeera reported.
Leavitt said in a Friday appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" that Trump was "flirting" with the idea of restoring the pool. "He just, maybe, wants to restore it to all of its glory," she said, according to Al Jazeera. "I don't know if he'll do it."
The pool was built in 1933 for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in the 1970s President Richard Nixon had a floor built over it to make room for the growing press corps, according to Al Jazeera. The pool remains beneath the briefing room floor. In September, Trump shared side-by-side images of the briefing room and an ornate pool labeled "Fake News Before" and "FDR Pool After," Newsweek reported.
A Tense Stretch With the Press Corps
Trump's post rules out the pool but leaves open the possibility of moving reporters out of their current workspace. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had earlier said "all options remain on the table" and that an announcement would come "when appropriate," according to Newsweek.
Last month, Trump barred journalists from three news outlets from the White House. A federal judge ruled the order was likely unconstitutional, and the White House restored their access while the administration continues to fight the ruling, Al Jazeera reported.
On Tuesday, during an Oval Office event, Trump told The Independent's White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg, "What's wrong with you? Are you a sick person?" as Feinberg tried to ask a question, according to Al Jazeera.
The briefing room is named for James Brady, the White House press secretary who was wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The Digital Free Press will follow any decision to move the press corps.
Image: James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, White House (file photo, 2007), Kellerbn at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Newsweek, "Trump Denies White House Press Room Swimming Pool Plan" (Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.newsweek.com/trump-denies-plan-to-replace-white-house-press-room-with-swimming-pool-12614409 ; Al Jazeera, "Trump says he may move White House press corps to new location" (Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/24/trump-says-he-may-move-white-house-press-corps-to-new-location
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