Donald Trump has reportedly found a new way to get rid of journalists who work at the White House: transforming their press room into a swimming pool. According to the “New York Times”, which cites collaborators of the American presidency, the tenant of the White House has proposed replacing the current press conference room with a swimming pool.
The idea would not be completely new. According to the “Wall Street Journal”, Donald Trump has regularly raised, since his first term between 2017 and 2021, the possibility of excluding journalists from the White House.
At the end of September, the American president had already given an overview of his desires on his Truth Social network. He published a photomontage showing the current press room transformed into a sumptuous swimming pool. For the moment, however, there is no indication that a concrete renovation project has been launched.
A room built on an old swimming pool
The history of the place gives a particular dimension to this proposal. The press room was built in 1970 above a swimming pool once used by President Franklin Roosevelt, notably for health reasons.
Since then, this space has hosted the 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 come to fruition, it would therefore be a return to the initial vocation of the premises, but at the cost of the disappearance of a space emblematic of relations between the American presidency and the media.
