Washington — The White House press corps could soon find itself reporting from a very different kind of pool.
President Trump revived the idea Sunday, joking that the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room could be converted back into an indoor swimming pool — its original purpose under President Franklin D. Roosevelt — as his battle with the news media continues.
On Truth Social, Trump shared before-and-after images showing the briefing room reimagined as an ornate, gold-trimmed swimming pool.
The post came as Trump presses ahead with efforts to bar reporters from CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House grounds.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House on Thursday to restore access for journalists from all three outlets for at least two weeks while the legal dispute proceeds.
Trump’s effort also prompted the five major television networks in the White House press pool — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — to temporarily suspend their participation. The networks rotate expanded access, and their withdrawal created complications in obtaining video of Trump earlier last week.
Roosevelt commissioned the indoor pool in 1933 while undergoing treatment for polio. Several presidents who followed him, including Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, were frequent users.
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The pool was later covered with flooring during Richard Nixon’s presidency to create a press briefing room. The space was eventually named for James Brady, the former press secretary to President Ronald Reagan who was gravely wounded during John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt on Reagan.
Although hidden beneath the briefing room, the original pool structure remains in place. The White House also has an outdoor pool, built by former President Gerald Ford.
Trump has pursued an extensive renovation agenda during his second term, making changes to spaces including the Palm Room, the colonnade and the North Portico. He has repeatedly promoted a lavish $400 million ballroom project and recently unveiled a granite helipad on the South Lawn.
The billionaire real-estate developer has also targeted projects around Washington, including the restoration of fountains, the application of 23-karat gold to statues near the Lincoln Memorial and renovations to the Reflecting Pool.
Yet renovating the White House press briefing room has not been among the projects that have attracted his interest.
“I don’t want to do that,” Trump told a reporter last year when asked whether he planned to renovate the briefing room.
“I don’t want you to be comfortable,” he added with a quip. “No, I don’t want to make life comfortable.”
