In a late night social media post, Donald Trump floated the idea of tearing out the White House press briefing room and restoring a historic indoor swimming pool in its place.
Trump posted side-by-side images of the current James S. Brady Press Briefing Room next to an elaborate rendering of what a renovated pool could look like.
The pool has a storied history. Franklin D. Roosevelt had it built in 1933 in the West Terrace following his polio diagnosis, using swimming as therapeutic exercise. It remained in use until 1970, when Richard Nixon had a floor installed over it to accommodate a growing White House press corps.
The pool itself was never demolished, however — it was simply covered over and preserved beneath the briefing room floor, leaving open the possibility that it could one day be brought back.
Trump’s post comes a week after confrontations between Trump and the press after the president moved to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from access to the White House press corps.
The three organizations sued, arguing the restrictions violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights. A federal judge restored their access.
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