Donald Trump posted this Sunday on his Truth Social network a montage suggesting the demolition of the White House press room to replace it with a pool adorned with gold decorations, as part of his escalation against various media outlets.
The image, divided into two parts, shows a photograph of the current press room with the text "before" and the label "fake news," alongside a recreation of an indoor pool with the text "after." According to the post, the space would be dedicated to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The gesture has a specific historical background: the current James S. Brady press briefing room has been in operation since 1970, when the Nixon administration covered the old indoor pool that Roosevelt had installed in 1933 for his polio rehabilitation. The original pool was never demolished and remains beneath the floor of the room.
So far, the White House has not announced any official project, budget, or timeline for carrying out that potential transformation.
The publication comes amid a systematic offensive by Trump against the free press that intensified throughout September. In the middle of the month, the administration banned access for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to the White House, accusing them of spreading "fake news," and the following day their journalists were physically blocked at the entrances.
The three media outlets responded with a federal lawsuit for violation of the First Amendment, the constitutional amendment that protects freedom of speech. In solidarity, major networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News suspended the rotating pool coverage system of the presidency.
On that same day, the White House launched "TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station," an online streaming channel available 24/7 on YouTube with content curated by the administration itself.
On September 24, federal judge Timothy Kelly ordered the temporary reinstatement of the credentials of the three banned media outlets for 14 days, considering that the exclusion could violate due process and the First Amendment. However, the White House excluded CNN from the presidential plane Air Force One on Saturday during a trip to Tennessee, even though the network was on a rotating schedule to capture and distribute images of the movement. Its spot in the press group was taken by Real America's Voice.
This escalation has roots dating back to February 2025, when the White House had already broken ties with the Correspondents' Association to directly control who was part of the presidential press group.
The 14-day deadline set by Judge Kelly for the temporary reinstatement of credentials expires in early October, which could lead to a new legal battle between the Trump administration and the banned media outlets.
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