Trump’s pool denial clashes with his own earlier post

Donald Trump has ruled out restoring the swimming pool beneath the White House press briefing room, but his claim never to have considered it clashes with his own earlier post and his former press secretary’s account. Moving reporters elsewhere remains an option in his latest statement.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, 24 October 2026, Trump called the reporting “Fake News” and said the pool “will never be brought back”. “I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!” he wrote. But he also said he “may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location”.

On 27 September, his account had shared a before-and-after image contrasting the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an ornate indoor pool. The captions were “Fake News Before” and “FDR Pool After”, as recorded by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Leavitt discussed the idea on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on 23 October, the evening before Trump’s denial. “I don’t know if he’ll do it,” she said, while describing him as “flirting” with the idea, according to TheWrap’s account of the programme.

Neither the image nor Leavitt’s remarks establishes an approved restoration project. The earlier newspaper reporting also distinguished discussion from action.

Trump did not identify the report he was attacking. A New York Times article published on 20 October, and republished by The Philadelphia Inquirer on 22 October, described repeated requests to move reporters from the briefing room. Citing three unnamed people with knowledge of the discussions, it said Trump had pressed Leavitt over several months. The proposal had not advanced during her tenure, which ended on 27 August.

The article also reported that Trump had told aides he would prefer to bring back the indoor pool. It did not describe an approved construction project.

White House communications director Steven Cheung’s response to the newspaper attacked the media’s accuracy but left the options open: “All options remain on the table, and we will make an announcement when appropriate.”

The report also identified Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as someone encouraging the pool discussion. Citing two people familiar with the talks, it said he had created a display-board rendering of the briefing room restored as a pool. Pulte did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.

The historical pool is real. Franklin D. Roosevelt had it built in 1933, and Richard Nixon later had the briefing room constructed above it. The room has hosted briefings since 1970, according to the White House’s historical archive.

The location question concerns more than news conferences: reporters also work in a small office area connected to the briefing room. The Times identified the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building as a possible destination, not a chosen one.

The debate follows September’s fight over White House access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico. Reuters reported on 24 October that their access had been restored after a federal judge’s order, while the administration continued to contest the case.

Rejecting restoration now does not refute reports of earlier interest, especially when Trump’s own account had already publicised the idea. His latest post leaves a press move open without naming a destination, timetable or new access arrangements.