From the gilded surroundings of his Mar-a-Lago estate, President Donald Trump spent Christmas Eve participating in a long-standing White House tradition: taking calls from children tracking Santa Claus’s journey through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The sessions, which saw the President and First Lady Melania Trump side-by-side, were a characteristic mix of holiday whimsy and the sharp, unfiltered political asides that have defined the Trump presidency.
In one exchange with two children from Oklahoma, Trump jokingly expressed his commitment to national security, even on a global delivery night. “We want to make sure that Santa is being good,” he told the youngsters. “We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated—that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”
While the President maintained a jovial tone throughout the calls, his signature campaign slogans were never far from the surface. When an 8-year-old girl from Kansas mentioned she was hoping “not to get coal” in her stocking, Trump seized the opportunity to defend a favored industry.
“You mean clean, beautiful coal?” he laughed, referencing his administration’s efforts to revive domestic production. “Coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that, at all costs.” He eventually conceded to the caller’s preference for a Barbie doll and candy, but the moment highlighted his habit of blending policy with the personal.
The lighter moments also included advice on holiday etiquette. When a child from North Carolina worried if Santa would be angry if no cookies were left out, Trump offered a humorous warning. “He won’t get mad, but I think he’ll be very disappointed,” the President said. “Santa—he tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side. A little on the heavy side. I think Santa would like some cookies.”
However, the festive spirit had a sharp edge. Shortly after the calls concluded, Trump shifted from “Santa’s helper” to “political firebrand,” taking to social media to blast his opponents. In a post that contrasted sharply with his calls to children, he wished a Merry Christmas to all, including what he termed the “radical left scum.”
The post served as an end-of-year victory lap for his administration’s economic data. Trump touted a record stock market and a 4.3% GDP growth rate reported just a day prior—figures he credits to his aggressive tariff policies and deregulation.
As the tracking maps showed Santa crossing into the Western Hemisphere, the President noted that while he could take these calls “all day long,” he would soon have to return to the weightier issues of global conflict and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
