The Oval Office of the White House in which Joe Biden settled on January 20, 2021. -
Alex Brandon / AP / SIPA
It's an old tradition.
When handing over power from one president to another, the White House movers and decorator only have a few hours to transform the Oval Office.
A question of design, but above all of symbol for this mythical place.
"President Biden wanted an Oval Office that looks like America," a White House official told the
Washington Post
.
Exit, therefore, the portrait of populist President Andrew Jackson accused of racism, which Joe Biden replaced by Benjamin Franklin.
Opposite the "resolute desk" (the office of American presidents), there is a gallery made up of Roosevelt surrounded by Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Lincoln.
On the busts side, that of Winston Churchill was shelved, as under Barack Obama, and replaced by the civil rights figure Rosa Parks and the Latin trade unionist Cesar Chavez.
No "diet coke" button
The colors of the Oval Office echo the theme already adopted by Bill Clinton, with the same golden curtains as Donald Trump, this time associated with a blue carpet.
The decor of the Oval Office of the Biden, Trump, Obama, Clinton administrations (Biden returned to the blue carpet / gold curtains of Clinton).
- bust of MLK highlighted
- painting of Andrew Jackson withdrawn (populist accused of racism) pic.twitter.com/JJsnbF6ZI2
- Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) January 21, 2021
Finally, observers noted, when the first decrees were signed on Wednesday, that the wooden case, equipped with a red button, which Donald Trump kept to the right of his phone, has disappeared.
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.
pic.twitter.com/rFzhPaHYjk
- Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) January 21, 2021
Several journalists provided the answer: it was Donald Trump's “diet coke” button.
When the ex-US president pressed on it, an assistant ran a can of diet coke.
Did he take him to Mar-a-lago?
US presidential election
Joe biden
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