Trump: Press Out, Pool In?

President Donald Trump — Photo: Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

President Trump has talked about kicking the White House press corps out of its longtime home and putting a swimming pool back in its place.

Quick Take

President Trump has discussed moving the press corps out of the White House, according to two people close to him.
One idea involves tearing out the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room and restoring the indoor pool once used by Franklin Roosevelt.
The White House has not denied the report and says “all options remain on the table.”
The talk comes amid a rocky stretch for White House communications, including a press secretary who lasted five days.

What President Trump Is Reportedly Considering

President Trump has discussed moving the White House press corps to another building, two people close to him told CBS News. Both sources said no final decision has been made yet. The idea would shift reporters away from the West Wing, a space they have occupied for more than half a century, and could reshape how journalists access the president day to day.

🚨 EVICTING THE FAKE NEWS CARTEL! President Trump is looking at moving the corrupt White House press corps out of the Brady Briefing Room—and the legacy media is melting down! 🔥 For too long, weak Democrats let CNN & Politico act as radical left-wing propagandists while coddling…

— Did I Piss You Off? (@DIPYOMUCH) October 21, 2026

Outside allies have pushed the idea for weeks, the New York Times reported, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. The paper also reported that President Trump wants to replace the Brady Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool, a space that existed at the White House decades ago. A separate report said the pool proposal has already won support from some advisers inside the building.

The White House Response So Far

Asked about the report, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung did not deny it. He said “all options remain on the table” and that an announcement would come when appropriate. That kind of answer does not confirm a plan, but it does not shut the door either. For a White House known for tight message control, leaving the door open says plenty on its own.

The idea is not coming from nowhere. In September, the administration posted a blunt message on its own website: White House access is “a privilege — not a right.” It added that the old rule of “every outlet gets in” was never really how things worked, insisting instead it was always “our side stays in”. That framing lines up with a real conservative grievance about a press corps many see as adversarial rather than neutral.

A Press Room With Roots Back to Nixon

The Brady room itself was built in 1970, when President Nixon converted an indoor pool built for Franklin Roosevelt into briefing space for a growing television press corps. Presidents have rearranged the press before. Harry Truman moved press conferences out of the Oval Office to the Indian Treaty Room in 1945, showing briefings away from the West Wing are not unprecedented. Still, fully removing reporters from the building would mark a bigger break than any past shuffle.

A Rough Few Months for White House Communications

The relocation talk follows a turbulent stretch for the press operation. Katie Zacharia stepped into the press secretary job and was gone within five days, after a widely criticized first and only briefing. A White House official said she was “transitioning out,” and President Trump later said he let her decide to leave on her own. That kind of churn tends to invite more scrutiny of how the administration handles the press, not less.

The administration has already narrowed press access elsewhere. In late 2025, it ended free access to a West Wing office long used by reporters covering communications staff, calling it part of a broader effort to rein in the press corps. President Trump has also rejected proposals to simply make the existing briefing room bigger. Told reporters he liked them uncomfortable, he said plainly, “I don’t want you to be comfortable”.

Taken together, the reporting points to a White House testing how far it can go in reshaping its relationship with the press, physically and otherwise. No decision has been finalized, and officials have stopped short of confirming specifics. But between the access restrictions, the briefing room comments, and now talk of eviction altogether, the direction of travel looks unmistakable.