JD Vance recounted a memorable moment with President Trump that left him feeling anxious, believing he might have inadvertently triggered a nuclear crisis.
Shortly after Donald Trump used an explicit word while speaking to reporters about the ongoing Middle East conflict on Tuesday, June 24, Vice President Vance delivered a speech at a Republican dinner in Ohio, offering a glimpse into his experiences with Trump.
During his address, Vance not only made a comedic gesture but also regaled the audience with an amusing anecdote involving President Trump.
While in the Oval Office, Vance and Trump were on a call with a foreign leader when Trump decided to mute the conversation midway. Vance recounted: “[Trump] says to me: ‘This isn’t going very well,’ and he presses the red button.
“My eyes get really big and I’m like, ‘Mr President, what just happened?’ He looks at me and he goes: ‘Nuclear’.”
Vance chuckled and continued: “Two minutes later a guy walks in with a Diet Coke and Trump looks at me and says, ‘It wasn’t nuclear, it was a Diet Coke button’.”
The story resonated on Instagram, where one person remarked: “Trump’s sense of humor is unmatched,” and another added: “Awesome prank.”
“Honestly, if you don’t use the red button prank, what are you even doing in that oval office?” someone else pondered, while another observed: “Has to be pretty entertaining to work with this president!”
The red button is located on the famous Resolute Desk, a fixture in the White House since Queen Victoria gifted it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.
Various presidents have utilized the red button, which is reportedly housed in a stained-wood box with a golden seal.
Between 2017 and 2021, Trump would summon his favorite drink at any hour, thanks to the button. Naturally, he reinstated it upon reentering office earlier this year.
According to entrepreneur Richard Branson, President Barack Obama used the button to request tea for his guests at the White House.
In contrast, during the 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson had four buttons for different beverages: coffee, tea, Coca-Cola, and Fresca.
Following Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election, one of his initial actions as president after his inauguration in January 2021 was to remove the Diet Coke button.
Biden eventually reintroduced the button but has not disclosed its current function under his administration.
TV host James Corden speculated that Biden might be using it as an ‘ice cream button.’
If you had a big red button, what would you use it for?