President Donald Trump said Saturday he may relocate the White House press corps, writing on Truth Social that he “may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location.”
The comment came as Trump shot down a report that he wanted to tear out the press briefing room and bring back the old swimming pool underneath it. He said he had never “even thought to do such a stupid thing,” and made clear the pool is not coming back.
What sparked it
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump had urged then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt in August to move news conferences out of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, which has been home to the White House press corps for more than five decades. According to the Times, Trump told aides he would rather have the indoor therapy pool that was installed there during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. The Nixon administration later covered the pool and turned the space into the briefing room.
That idea was never put into action, according to Reuters and USA Today. Leavitt left her post later in August, and USA Today reports there is currently no White House press secretary after Katie Zacharia departed earlier this month following five days in the job.
An ongoing fight with the press
Trump’s swipe is the latest chapter in his long-running battle with the national media, which he regularly accuses of unfair coverage. Last month he briefly barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds and said other outlets could face similar restrictions. A federal judge ordered their access restored, finding the ban likely unconstitutional, and the administration is still contesting that case, Reuters reported.
Trump did not say where the press corps might go or when any move could happen. For now, the briefing room stays put, and the pool stays buried.
Reporting based on accounts from Reuters and USA Today.