The U.S. President Donald Trump posted a photo montage this Sunday on his Truth Social network 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 several media outlets.
The collage shows a photograph of the current press room under the text "Before" and the label "Fake News," alongside a recreation of an indoor pool, with the inscription "After" below the text "FDR Pool," referencing the pool of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) at the White House.
The publication has a specific historical background: the current James S. Brady press briefing room has been in operation since 1970, when the administration of Richard Nixon covered the old indoor pool that Roosevelt had installed in 1933 for his rehabilitation from polio. The original pool was never demolished and remains beneath the floor of the press room.
So far, the White House has not announced any official project, budget, or timeline to carry out that possible 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 to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico at the presidential headquarters, accusing them of spreading "fake news," and the next day their reporters were physically blocked at the entrances.
The three media outlets responded with a federal lawsuit for violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects freedom of speech. In solidarity, the major television networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News suspended the joint rotational coverage system of the presidency.
On the same day, the White House launched "TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station," a 24-hour streaming channel 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, despite the network being the designated outlet, by rotating schedule, to take and distribute images of the movement. Its spot in the press pool was taken by Real America's Voice.
This escalation has roots going back to February 2025, when the White House had already broken 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.
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