Some presidents of the United States have had a red

call button An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings which functions independently of the public telepho ...

in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped ro ...

of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

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

An 1881 letter written by White House disbursing agent William H. Crook refers to an electric bell attached to president

James Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until Assassination of James A. Garfield, his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an as ...

's desk. Lyndon Johnson had a series of buttons, or keys, to summon different drinks to the

Cabinet Room A cabinet (also known by other terms) was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his ...

, 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 Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

Coke Coke usually refers to: * Coca-Cola, a brand of soft drink **The Coca-Cola Company * Slang term for cocaine, a psychoactive substance and illicit drug Substances Soft drinks * Cola, any soft drink similar to Coca-Cola * Generic name for a soft d ...

, and

Fresca Fresca is a grapefruit-flavored citrus soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company. Borrowing the word ''Fresca'' (meaning "fresh") from Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, it was introduced in the United States in 1966. Originally a bottled sugar- ...

, and when pressed a butler would fulfill the president's drink request. The modern call button sits in an approximately wooden box marked with a golden presidential seal and has been on the ''Resolute'' desk since at least the George W. Bush presidency. According to

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expresse ...

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

repurposed it to order tea for his White House guests. During

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

's presidency, when pressed, a signal would summon a

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "val ...

who would bring a

Diet Coke Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...

on a silver platter. At one time

Walt Nauta Waltine Torre Nauta Jr. (born ) is an American butler and body man to former U.S. president Donald Trump who is a defendant in a criminal case over violations of the Espionage Act and related offenses. While a petty officer in the U.S. Navy ...

had this job. Trump reportedly also used the button to request lunch, and to pull pranks on new visitors to the White House. Trump stated to one reporter that "everyone thinks it is he nuclear button">nuclear_button.html" ;"title="he nuclear button">he nuclear button and that people "get a little nervous when I press that button." In the first few days of Joe Biden's presidency, it was reported that he had the button removed; 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.

References

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