Trump says he may move White House press corps to new location

Trump’s remarks come amid a fractious moment between the US president and the journalists who cover him.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

United States President Donald Trump has confirmed he could move the White House press corps to a different location, possibly away from the executive residence.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump described reports that he planned to remove the White House press briefing room in favour of restoring a historic swimming pool located underneath as “Fake News”.

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“I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

Trump, however, indicated he may relocate dozens of reporters who cover the White House “to a less obnoxious location”.

The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Trump had pitched his former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on an idea to move journalists out of the White House’s storied James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. That proposal did not move forward during Leavitt’s tenure, which ended on August 27.

Trump’s remarks come amid a fractious moment between him and the journalists who cover him.

Last month, Trump banned journalists from three US-based media outlets – CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO – from the White House, a move that proponents of free speech said violated First Amendment protections.

A US federal judge ruled that the order was likely unconstitutional, forcing the White House to restore the journalists’ access. The Trump administration continues to fight the ruling.

Trump has also regularly chided and denigrated members of the media he claims cover him unfairly.

The latest incident was during an Oval Office event on Tuesday when Trump attacked The Independent’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person? I actually think there’s something wrong with you”, Trump said as Feinberg tried to ask a question. The moment was amplified by the White House on social media.

If Trump opts to proceed with changes to the White House press briefing room, it would be the latest in a long list of controversial projects he has ordered that would transform the property.

Since returning to power last year, the US president has demolished the White House East Wing to construct a new ballroom, installed concrete pavers over the lawn centred in the White House Rose Garden and built a helipad on the South Lawn.

The Times reported Trump told aides he wanted to bring back a West Wing indoor pool constructed in 1933 for use by President Franklin D Roosevelt, who suffered from polio and often swam, according to his presidential library, to ease soreness.

In the 1970s, former President Richard Nixon had a floor constructed above the pool to accommodate a briefing room for the growing White House press corps. The pool remains beneath the floor of the briefing room.

Leavitt confirmed during a Friday interview that Trump was “flirting” with the idea of restoring the pool.

“He just, maybe, wants to restore it to all of its glory”, Leavitt said during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”. “I don’t know if he’ll do it.”

The White House did not immediately return Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

特朗普发表这番言论之际，正值美国总统与报道他的记者之间关系紧张之时。

唐纳德·特朗普在白宫向记者发表讲话 [图片：凯文·拉马克/路透社]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已确认，他可能会将白宫记者团迁至其他地点，可能远离总统官邸。

周五，特朗普在社交媒体上发帖称，有关他计划拆除白宫新闻发布室，转而修复其下方历史悠久的游泳池的报道是“假新闻”。

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“我做梦都没想到自己会做这么愚蠢的事！”他在 Truth Social 上发帖写道。

然而，特朗普表示，他可能会将数十名报道白宫的记者转移到“一个不那么令人讨厌的地方”。

《纽约时报》周二报道称，特朗普曾向其前新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特提出一项提议，将记者迁出白宫著名的詹姆斯·S·布雷迪新闻发布室。该提议在莱维特任期内并未得到落实，她的任期于8月27日结束。

特朗普发表这番言论之际，正值他与报道他的记者们关系紧张之时。

上个月，特朗普禁止三家美国媒体机构——CNN、MS NOW 和 POLITICO——的记者进入白宫，言论自由的支持者表示，此举违反了第一修正案的保护。

美国一名联邦法官裁定该命令可能违宪，迫使白宫恢复记者的采访权限。特朗普政府仍在就此裁决提出上诉。

特朗普还经常斥责和贬低他认为对他报道不公的媒体​​成员。

最近一次事件发生在周二的椭圆形办公室活动中，当时特朗普攻击了《独立报》的白宫记者安德鲁·费恩伯格。

“你脑子有病吗？你是不是生病了？我觉得你真的有问题。”当费恩伯格试图提问时，特朗普这样说道。白宫随后在社交媒体上放大了这一幕。

如果特朗普选择继续推进白宫新闻发布室的改造，这将是他下令进行的一系列备受争议的改造项目中的最新一项。

自去年重返政坛以来，美国总统拆除了白宫东翼，建造了一个新的宴会厅，在白宫玫瑰园中央的草坪上铺设了混凝土路面，并在南草坪上建造了一个直升机停机坪。

《泰晤士报》报道称，特朗普告诉助手，他想恢复白宫西翼的室内游泳池。该游泳池建于 1933 年，是为患有小儿麻痹症的富兰克林·罗斯福总统建造的，据罗斯福总统的总统图书馆记载，罗斯福经常游泳以缓解疼痛。

上世纪70年代，前总统理查德·尼克松在游泳池上方加盖了一层，以便为日益壮大的白宫记者团设立新闻发布室。游泳池至今仍位于新闻发布室的地板下方。

莱维特在周五的采访中证实，特朗普正在“考虑”恢复游泳池的想法。

“他或许只是想让它重现昔日辉煌，”利维特在HBO的“比尔·马赫脱口秀”节目中说道。“我不知道他能不能做到。”

白宫尚未回复半岛电视台的置评请求。