President Donald Trump and Melania opened their Mar-a-Lago residence to answer calls from children across America via the NORAD hotline. Trump joked about watching out for a "naughty Santa" sneaking into the country and teased about coal in Christmas stockings, reiterating his support for coal as "clean and beautiful" energy before ending with Christmas greetings to political opponents.
On the evening of Christmas Eve (24 Dec), President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump continued the tradition of answering phone calls from children who called the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD runs a simulated event to track Santa Claus’s journey around the world.
During conversations with children aged 4 and 10 from Oklahoma, Trump injected his style of border control commentary, saying, "We have to make sure Santa is a good person, and Santa is very good." He added, "We want to ensure he (Santa) isn’t infiltrated, and we won’t have a ‘naughty Santa’ sneaking into our country." However, he did not elaborate on what he meant by a naughty Santa.
The moment that drew the most laughter came when Trump spoke with an 8-year-old girl from Kansas. When he asked what gift she wanted, she promptly replied, "Anything but coal," referring to the tradition that naughty children receive coal as a gift.
Trump quickly responded with his favorite campaign slogan: "You mean clean and beautiful coal?" Amid laughter in the room, even Melania, who was on another line, turned to smile. "Coal is clean and beautiful, remember that no matter what happens... But you probably don’t want clean coal, right?" The girl confirmed she preferred Barbie dolls, clothes, and sweets.
When an 8-year-old boy from North Carolina asked if Santa would be upset if no cookies were left for him, Trump replied Santa probably wouldn’t be angry but might be disappointed. He joked about Santa’s physique: "You know Santa’s a bit cherubic—basically quite plump. I think Santa would want to eat cookies."
Trump also quietly teased Melania, sitting beside him and attentively listening to the children on the line, saying, "Look, she’s so focused without even listening to me at all."
Although the call with the children was enjoyable, and Trump complained he wished he could talk all day but had to return to handling the Russia-Ukraine war, he maintained his tradition of posting on social media about his political rivals, as he did in 2024 and 2017.
This year, he posted: "Merry Christmas to everyone, including the ‘radical left scum’ who are trying every way to destroy our country—but they are failing miserably."
. SourceAP