Trump wants to replace the press room with a luxury swimming pool

The US president is reportedly considering removing the space reserved for journalists at the White House to install a luxury swimming pool.

Donald Trump has reportedly found a new way to get rid of journalists working at the White House: transforming their press room into a swimming pool. According to the New York Times, which cites sources close to the White House, the president has proposed replacing the current press briefing room with a swimming pool.

The idea is not entirely new. According to the "Wall Street Journal," Donald Trump has regularly mentioned the possibility of excluding journalists from the White House since his first term between 2017 and 2021.

In late September, the US president had already given a glimpse of his ambitions on his Truth Social network. He posted a photomontage showing the current press room transformed into a lavish swimming pool. For now, however, there is no indication that a concrete renovation project has been launched.

A room built on top of a former swimming pool

The history of the place gives a special dimension to this proposal. The press room was created in 1970 above a swimming pool once used by President Franklin Roosevelt, notably for health reasons.

Since then, this space has hosted regular press conferences of the American presidency. Adjoining offices also allow accredited journalists to work directly at the White House.

If Donald Trump's idea were to materialize, it would therefore be a return to the original purpose of the place, but at the cost of the disappearance of a space emblematic of the relationship between the American presidency and the media.