Presidential call button

The red button in a wooden box next to the telephone on the Resolute desk in March 2017

Some presidents of the United States have had a red call button in the Oval Office of the White House that could call aides. The earliest incarnation dates to 1881 or before, and the modern call button has been in a wooden box on the Resolute desk since at least the George W. Bush presidency (2001–2009).

History

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George W. Bush at the Resolute desk during 9/11, with the call button on the desk, to his left
Barack Obama on the phone while sitting at the Resolute desk in 2009. The wooden box holding the button is visible next to the phone.
Barack Obama sitting at the Resolute desk with the button visible

An 1881 letter written by White House disbursing agent William H. Crook refers to an electric bell attached to president James Garfield's desk.[1] Lyndon Johnson had a series of buttons, or keys, to summon different drinks to the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and "Little Lounge" (a room just next to the Oval Office). In the Oval Office the keys were on the table behind the president's desk. The four keys were for coffee, tea, Coca-Cola and Fresca; when pressed, a butler would fulfill the president's drink request.[2]

The modern call button sits in an approximately 9 by 3 in (20 by 8 cm) wooden box marked with a golden presidential seal[3][4] and has been on the Resolute desk since at least the George W. Bush presidency.[5] According to Richard Branson, President Obama repurposed it to order tea for his White House guests.[6]

During Donald Trump's presidency, when pressed, a signal would summon a valet who would bring a Diet Coke on a silver platter. At one time Walt Nauta had this job.[7] Trump reportedly also used the button to request lunch, and to pull pranks on new visitors to the White House.[8][9] Trump stated to one reporter that "everyone thinks it is [the nuclear button]"[10] and that people "get a little nervous when I press that button."[5]

In the first few days of Joe Biden's presidency, it was reported that he had the button removed;[11][12] however, it appeared to return a few weeks later when a White House official told Politico that the button was back on the desk with an unspecified purpose.[5][13] James Corden has said that Joe Biden has an "ice cream button" on his desk.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Office of the Chief Usher, ed. (1989). The White House: The Ronald W. Reagan Administration, 1981-1989. The White House. p. 62. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum [@LBJLibrary] (2017-04-26). "Many have asked about LBJ having a Fresca button in the White House. Short answer—yes, he did. More details from our archives:" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-26 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Sims, Cliff (2019). Team of Vipers My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 78. ISBN 9781250223890. Retrieved January 26, 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "'Yes, Mr. President': A call button for President Bush on his desk in the Oval Office". Time Magazine. April 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c McLaughlin, Kelly. "Biden brought the button Trump used to order Diet Cokes back to the Oval Office". Business Insider. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Strutner, Suzy (October 13, 2017). "Obama Used His Oval Office Red Button For Tea, According To Richard Branson". HuffPost. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Hartmann, Margaret (March 21, 2023). "Diet Coke Valet Is Trump's Most Loyal Aide". New York Intelligencer. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Evon, Dan (January 21, 2021). "Did Trump Have a 'Diet Coke' Button in the Oval Office?". Snopes. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Lejeune, Tristan (January 21, 2021). "Trump's Diet Coke button appears to have left Oval Office when he did". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Abramson, Alana (April 27, 2017). "President Trump Presses a Button in the Oval Office to Get a Coke". Time. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Massie, Graeme (January 21, 2021). "Biden removes Trump's Diet Coke button from the White House". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Reimann, Nicholas (January 21, 2021). "Moon Rock In, Diet Coke Button Out: Here Are The Changes Joe Biden Has Made To Oval Office Decor". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Rayasam, Renuka; Ward, Myah (January 25, 2021). "Impeachment means 2022 is already here". Politico. Robert Allbritton. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  14. ^ Ashleigh Rainbird (June 29, 2022). "James Corden shares excitement at finding Joe Biden's 'ice cream button'". Retrieved January 28, 2024.

38°53′51″N 77°02′15″W / 38.8974°N 77.0374°W / 38.8974; -77.0374

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