WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump said there are no plans to remove the White House press briefing room and restore the swimming pool that once occupied the space beneath it.
He took to Truth Social early Saturday morning to dismiss a report as “Fake News.”
“There is a Fake News report out there that I am going to remove the White House Press Room and bring back the old Swimming Pool, which lies directly underneath,” Trump wrote.
Trump did not identify the report he was disputing or detail any planned changes to the press room, but he said he might move members of the news media to what he described as “a less obnoxious location.”
“Although I may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location, the old swimming pool will never be brought back,” he added. “I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!”
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 23: U.S. President Donald Trump dances as he departs the stage following an election rally at Alico Arena on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus on October 23, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. President Trump traveled to Florida to rally for local Republican candidates ahead of next week’s midterm elections. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The modern James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, in the West Wing, was built above a former indoor pool. President Richard Nixon had the pool covered in 1970 to create space for television press briefings.
Any plans to relocate the White House press corps would change how reporters cover the presidency. The briefing room has long been the central site for briefings and daily access to the White House.
The comments follow Trump’s move to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. A federal judge temporarily blocked the restrictions and ordered the outlets’ access restored, but his relationship with certain members of the media remain icy.
The president lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during an exchange outside the White House on Wednesday, calling the reporter “a low-IQ person” and “a dummy.”
“You don’t know anything,” Trump told Collins.
The confrontation occurred as Collins pressed Trump on whether his decision to waive sanctions on Russia was connected to the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American teacher who had been detained there since 2022.
Trump defended his negotiations with Russia over the release, with Collins continuing to press him on his claims.
Trump said the sanctions decision was necessary during negotiations and argued that Hubbard would not have been released otherwise. Collins responded that such a statement amounted to saying the administration had given something in exchange for the release.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Trump told Collins. “You’re a dummy. You’re a low-IQ person. You’re a dummy and you work for CNN.”
“If I’m negotiating to get a man back, a man we’ve wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, we’re getting him back because of me,” he added.
Collins had asked whether the sanctions waiver was tied to Hubbard’s release after Trump said he did not give anything up to secure the American’s return. The president rejected the premise of her question while maintaining that the decision helped make the release possible.
“Use your head,” he said.
The exchange marked another public confrontation between Trump and Collins, as well as the second spat he’s had with a member of the media in as many days.
Earlier this week, Trump clashed with at a reporter during a news conference in the Oval Office. Trump’s Rapid Response Team identified the journalist as Andrew Feinberg, who is a correspondent for the Independent.
It went down as Trump took questions from the press. The president grew visibly irritated during the exchange and questioned the reporter directly.
“What’s wrong with you?” Trump asked. “Are you a sick person?”
“Not that I know of, sir” the reporter replied.
“I actually think there’s something wrong with you,” Trump said.
Trump told Feinberg to “be careful” after Feinberg questioned why a new whistleblower program offered a 1% commission when the False Claims Act can award whistleblowers at least 10%. Vice President JD Vance called it a “fundamentally dishonest question.”
“Over 99% of the fraud that we’re finding in the federal government isn’t covered by the False Claims Act,” Vance said. “What the president is saying is that he wants all fraud to be the sort of thing where if you find it, if you uncover it, if you find evidence and allow us to undo the money, you should benefit, not just the very narrow slice that’s covered by the False Claims Act.”
Trump later made the “are you a sick person?” comment when Feinberg began asking about Trump’s golf courses. Trump cut him off with “quiet,” so the full question was not completed or publicly reported.
