Biden's Oval Office Is Already Missing One Bizarre Trump Addition
The Trump administration ended at high noon on January 20, when Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. President Biden has gotten to work immediately, making a number of changes since he first took his seat behind the Resolute Desk just a little over 24 hours ago. Per PBS, among Biden's first acts as president were mandating the use of masks in all federal buildings, rejoining the Paris climate accord, and removing the strange red button former President Donald Trump had installed on the famous desk in the Oval Office (via Business Insider).
The Resolute Desk was constructed from the "oak timbers of the British ship H.M.S. Resolute" and gifted to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880 "as a token of goodwill and friendship," according to the White House Historical Association. It has been used by every single president save three since its arrival in the White House, and President Trump was no exception, although he made a small modification to make the desk truly feel like his own.
President Biden has removed the Diet Coke button from the Resolute Desk
During his presidency, Trump had outfitted the historic desk with a small box equipped with a red button, which, when pushed, would alert his staff to bring him a Diet Coke. "With the push of a red button placed on the Resolute Desk that presidents have used for decades, a White House butler soon arrived with a Coke for the president," AP reporter Julie Pace reported in 2017 (via Time).
Today, Times Radio's Chief Political Commentator Tom Newton Dunn reported on Twitter that the distinctive red button is now gone. He posted pictures illustrating the difference between the two desks, noting: "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."
It seems safe to say that removing the Diet Coke button is only the first of many more changes to come under the Biden administration.