Featured Image Credit: Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images/Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Food and Drink
Britt Jones
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Food and Drink
It has been reported that the infamous ‘red button’ is back at the Oval Office - and it only has one function.
Yesterday (20 January) Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States.
His first stint saw him received a lot of criticism (and support) for his controversial policies and speeches.
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However, now he’s back and many people are worried about what will come next, particularly with Project 2025 on the horizon.
Anyway, back to the button.
The While House Oval Office has been revamped to keep in line with Trump’s tastes, as so happens with every president who comes into power.
They typically have time to re-decorate and rejig everything around so that the next four years of their stay is comfortable.
A seemingly ominous red button was spotted on Trump's spotted on the Resolute Desk, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Used during his first term, the red button - reportedly hidden inside of a wooden box - is how Trump summons staff to bring him a glass of Diet Coke.
Though Joe Biden removed it when he took to office in 2021, it looks like Trump has had it reinstated so that he can have the beverage at anytime he pleases, without having to go to the fridge himself.
When he presses it, the button will flag the White House butlers that the president is in need of his next fizzy fix.
Oh, how I wish I had that at home. But instead of Diet Coke, it’s a bucket of coffee and pistachio mochis.
In 2017, Trump talked about his button to the Financial Times and admitted that it made people on edge.
He said: “Everyone does get a little nervous when I press that button.”
Sure, pressing a bright red button halfway through a conversation might spark fears of a trap door - or worse.
They’d surely be relieved when a butler waltzes in with a Diet Coke on a tray instead.
According to The Independent, Chris Sims, a former White House communications aide, revealed that Trump would use the button to freak out Oval Office visitors from time to time.
"Out of nowhere, he'd suddenly press the button," Sims wrote in his 2019 book, Team of Vipers. "Not sure what to do, guests would look at one another with raised eyebrows. Moments later, a steward would enter the room carrying a glass filled with Diet Coke on a silver platter, and Trump would burst out laughing."
Now, that’s a good joke but it was probably something that scared his guests before the drink was eventually brought forth.