President Donald Trump engaged in a light-hearted yet characteristically pointed conversation with children across the United States during the annual Christmas Eve tradition of tracking Santa Claus.
A Festive Duty at Mar-a-Lago
From beside a Christmas tree at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, the President and First Lady Melania Trump fielded calls on Thursday 25 December 2025. The youngsters had dialled into the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), which follows Santa's global journey each Christmas Eve.
When a pair of siblings from Oklahoma, aged four and ten, asked why Santa needed to be tracked, President Trump framed it as a matter of national security. "We want to make sure that he's not infiltrated, that we are not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa," he told them.
"Clean, Beautiful Coal" and a Cherubic Santa
The calls, around a dozen in total, were interspersed with the President's trademark commentary. To an eight-year-old girl in Kansas who stated she did not want coal for Christmas, Mr Trump was quick to interject. "You mean clean, beautiful coal. I had to do that, I'm sorry," he said, later adding, "Coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that, at all costs." The child confirmed she would prefer a Barbie doll, clothes, and sweets.
In another exchange with an eight-year-old from North Carolina, the President joked about Santa's physique. Asked if Santa would be angry if no cookies were left out, Trump replied he would be "very disappointed." He explained, "You know, Santa's - he tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side. You know what cherubic means? A little on the heavy side. I think Santa would like some cookies."
Jovial Mood Amid Global Affairs
Throughout the event, President Trump frequently praised the state of the nation, declaring it was "in great shape" and the "numbers are great." He told a five-year-old boy in Pennsylvania that he loved the state and that Republicans had won it in a "landslide."
Despite saying he could take calls "all day long," he noted he would have to return to "other things" including matters related to Ukraine, Russia, and China. In a moment of humour, while the First Lady was on a call, he observed, "She's able to focus totally, without listening."
The festive spirit was followed by a more combative message on his Truth Social platform afterwards. He wrote: "Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our country, but are failing badly."
The NORAD Santa tracker is a long-standing holiday tradition, allowing children to speak to military personnel and special guests about Santa's progress. President Trump's participation continued this custom, albeit with his unique rhetorical flourishes on topics from energy policy to election results.
