'It's gone now': Joe Biden removes Trump's red 'Diet Coke' button from Oval office

As Joe Biden assumed charge as the 46th President of the United States, he removed his predecessor Donald Trump’s ‘Diet Coke button’ in the Oval Office. The former President Trump had the button installed on a wooden box next to his phone. However, Biden, who has already reversed previous administration’s policies on immigration, environment, economy and fighting COVID-19 pandemic, also turned around the look of the Oval Office. 

According to ANI, Trump, who is devoted to the soda drink, had the button put in place on the Resolute Desk in order to keep the carbonated beverages keep flowing. When pressed, a staffer would be summoned to provide the drink to the President. Trump would regularly consume 12 cans of Diet Coke a day, therefore, he got the button installed for his convenience. 

Ex-White House aide Chris Sims also wrote in his book, ‘Team of Vipers’, that Trump would also use the red button as a way of pranking visitors by suggesting it could trigger nuclear capabilities. Sims wrote that the former President, out of nowhere, would suddenly press the button. He added, “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”. 

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Biden's Oval Office 

Meanwhile, along with the red button, Biden has also made other changes to his decor at the famous room. The most visually striking change is Biden’s choice of a deep blue rug, with the presidential seal in the middle to replace a light-coloured rug laid down by Trump. Civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, are also on display, along with a sculpture of President Harry Truman. The President has also removed a bust of Winston Churchill, the former UK PM. 

Moreover, on the wall across from Biden’s desk is now a portrait collage of predecessors George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and former treasury secretary. Biden also replaced a row of military service flags Trump used to decorate the office with a single American flag and a flag with the presidential seal. He also chose a tufted, dark brown leather chair instead of keeping the reddish-brown desk chair Trump used.

(With inputs from ANI) 

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