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Did Donald Trump have red button to summon Diet Coke to Oval Office? President Joe Biden doesn't want it

The red call button gained special notoriety during Trump's reign because he especially trained the White House butler-on-duty to get him a Diet Coke each time he pressed it and had shown it off to several reporters
UPDATED JAN 22, 2021
Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The call box with the red button can be seen next to the telephone (Getty Images)
Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The call box with the red button can be seen next to the telephone (Getty Images)

President Joe Biden is making some changes. Most prominent of course has been his sweeping executive orders overturning some of ex-President Donald Trump's measures. Then there is the makeover of the Oval Office itself. President Biden, for instance, had the portrait of President Andrew Jackson moved because of his tainted legacy of passing the 'Indian Removal Act' and had a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, a man of science, instead.

But a smaller (and hilarious) detail emerged about how President Biden was making the Oval Office less Trump and more him. Most reporters who would interview Trump knew that he would often use a red button atop a small wooden box on the Resolute desk to summon the White House butler with a Diet Coke. 

However, President Joe Biden seems to want nothing to do with red buttons or Diet Cokes while working. He had it removed from Resolute Desk on his very first day in office. Political commentator Tom Newton Dunn commented on its absence saying: "President Biden has removed the Diet Coke button. When @ShippersUnbound and I interviewed Donald Trump in 2019, we became fascinated by what the little red button did. Eventually, Trump pressed it, and a butler swiftly brought in a Diet Coke on a silver platter. It's gone now."



 

President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The call box with the red button is nowhere to be seen (Getty Images)

When the missing call box with the red button was mentioned on Twitter, many users were quick to point out that it was not a "trump thing". Other Presidents from Barack Obama to Bush Sr. and Jr. have had the button to summon staff. But another user pointed out that while the call box had existed, the red call button had gained special notoriety during Trump's reign because he had especially trained the White House butler-on-duty to get him a Diet Coke each time he pressed it and had shown off the 'feature' in front of several reporters. According to reports, Trump would regularly consume as many as 12 diet cokes per day while doing business in the Oval Office.



 



 

However, President Biden seems to want to disassociate himself from the call box practice entirely. This might be his way of showing that he is a 'working' president who is 'ready to serve' but not ok with 'being served', even if it is by the White House staff. Social media users had fun imagining the conversation that happened before President Biden had it removed.

One tweet furnished the dialogue for the scenario saying: "would've paid so much money to get to be in the room for the conversation that I imagine went like: BIDEN: ok what's next STAFFER: setting up the Oval. Photos are all done. Do you want to keep the Diet Coke button? BIDEN:... STAFFER:... BIDEN: the what in god's name button". Another user referenced 'Family Guy' who had used the 'Diet Coke' button joke, saying: "FAMILY GUY WASNT JOKING ABOUT THE "DIET COKE BUTTON"?"



 



 

RuPaul's Drag Race's Kim Chi tweeted: "Biden removing Trump’s Diet Coke button is the funniest news I’ve heard all day today", while political analyst Jeff Greenfield tweeted: "TRUMP'S LETTER TO BIDEN LEFT IN THE DESK: "Joe: The Red Button Is for BigMac and Fries; Yellow Button Is For Diet Coke; Blue Button turns on FOX; Black Button Launches the Nukes...or Maybe Black Is for Big Mac and Fries and Red Launches the Nukes."  



 



 

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