President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows with another possible change to the White House — this time involving one of the most recognizable rooms in American politics.
Trump posted an image on Truth Social Sunday showing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room transformed into an elaborate indoor swimming pool.
The side-by-side image labeled the current press room “Fake News — Before” and showed a gold-accented swimming pool labeled “FDR Pool — After.”
The unusual post immediately attracted attention because there really is a historic swimming pool underneath the White House briefing room.
However, Trump has not formally announced that the press room will be removed or that the swimming pool will actually be restored.
Trump Floats Dramatic Change to White House Press Room
Trump’s September 27 post appeared to take aim at the White House press corps while also highlighting an unusual piece of presidential history.
The image suggested replacing the familiar briefing room — where presidents, press secretaries and reporters have interacted for decades — with a restored version of the swimming pool originally constructed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The post comes during an increasingly heated dispute between the Trump administration and several national news organizations.
Trump recently moved to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House grounds.
The three organizations challenged the restrictions in federal court.
On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily ordered the White House to restore access to journalists from the three outlets while the case proceeds. The White House subsequently reinstated that access.
The dispute has also affected the traditional White House press pool, which allows a smaller group of journalists to cover presidential events on behalf of the wider press corps.
Against that backdrop, Trump’s swimming-pool image appeared to be another pointed message aimed at journalists covering his administration.
LOOK:
HILARIOUS: Trump trolls the Fake News by floating the idea of ripping out the press briefing room and bringing back FDR’s original White House swimming pool that still sits right underneath it.
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) September 27, 2026
Do it! pic.twitter.com/nmUpIcnkOZ
The White House Really Did Have an Indoor Pool
The history behind Trump’s post dates back nearly a century.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt had an indoor swimming pool installed at the White House in 1933.
Roosevelt, who had lost the use of his legs after contracting polio, used swimming as an important form of exercise and physical therapy.
The pool later became popular with several other presidents, including Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.
It remained part of the White House complex until the Nixon administration made a major change.
Nixon Covered the Pool to Create the Press Room
By the late 1960s, television journalism was becoming increasingly important, and the White House needed a larger space for reporters.
President Richard Nixon authorized construction of a new press facility above the swimming pool in 1970.
Rather than completely demolishing the pool, workers installed flooring over it.
That means the original swimming-pool structure remains beneath the press briefing room today — making Trump’s proposal physically connected to a real part of White House history.
The facility eventually became known as the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Brady served as White House press secretary under President Ronald Reagan and was seriously wounded during John Hinckley Jr.’s 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan.
The room was officially renamed in Brady’s honor in 2000.
The White House Still Has Another Swimming Pool
Even if the historic indoor pool remains hidden beneath the briefing room, presidents have not been without a place to swim.
President Gerald Ford had an outdoor swimming pool constructed on the White House grounds during his administration.
Ford was an enthusiastic swimmer and reportedly used the pool regularly.
That outdoor pool remains part of the White House complex.
Trump Has Put His Own Stamp on the White House
The swimming-pool post comes as Trump continues pursuing significant changes to the White House grounds during his second term.
His administration has undertaken or proposed several construction and renovation projects as Trump seeks to reshape portions of the presidential complex.
The most prominent has been a large new White House ballroom project.
Trump has also backed upgrades and changes to other areas around the White House and Washington, D.C.
Presidents making alterations to the White House is nothing new.
Over more than two centuries, administrations have expanded, rebuilt and redesigned parts of the property as technology, security requirements and presidential preferences changed.
Harry Truman oversaw an enormous structural reconstruction of the White House between 1948 and 1952.
John F. Kennedy supervised a major historical restoration.
Nixon created the modern press room.
Ford installed the outdoor swimming pool.
Trump is now adding his own chapter to that long architectural history.
Would Trump Really Eliminate the Press Briefing Room?
For now, that remains uncertain.
Trump’s Truth Social post did not include construction plans, a timetable or an official announcement that the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room will actually be removed.
The image could simply be another example of Trump using social media to criticize news organizations with which he frequently clashes.
Still, the possibility is getting attention because restoring the pool would technically mean uncovering something that already exists beneath the room.
Trump has previously joked about conditions inside the White House press area.
When asked about renovating the briefing room, Trump responded that he did not want reporters to become too comfortable.
His latest post takes that sentiment much further — at least visually.
A Surprising Piece of White House History
Whatever Trump ultimately decides, the episode has brought renewed attention to a little-known part of presidential history.
Millions of Americans have watched White House press briefings from the familiar blue-backed room without realizing that a swimming pool built for Franklin D. Roosevelt is located directly underneath it.
Trump has now put that unusual fact back into the national spotlight.
Whether the FDR pool ever sees water again remains to be seen.
But with Trump continuing to pursue major changes to the White House complex, even an idea that initially looks like a social-media joke is certain to generate plenty of attention.