President and First Lady Field Festive NORAD Calls From Mar-a-Lago
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump spent part of Christmas Eve answering calls from children as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa-tracking tradition. During the calls, Trump joked about Santa and said the U.S. would not let a “bad Santa” infiltrate the country, a comment he did not explain further.
The event took place while the Trumps were vacationing at their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump and Melania sat side by side and took about a dozen calls from children across the United States.
Trump’s Christmas Eve Remarks
Trump answered questions from children about Santa’s journey, holiday wishes and festive traditions tracked by NORAD, which monitors Santa’s flight each year. When asked how the U.S. would ensure Santa was behaving properly, Trump said:
“We want to make sure that Santa is being good. Santa’s a very good person… We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated, that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”
He did not elaborate on what he meant by a “bad Santa.”
Light-Hearted Moments With Children
The president and first lady shared friendly banter with kids aged between 4 and 10. When an 8-year-old from North Carolina asked if Santa would be upset if no cookies were left out for him, Trump said he didn’t think Santa would be mad, but that he might be “very disappointed.”
Trump also joked about Santa’s appearance and appetite, using the word “cherubic” to describe the traditional figure.
In another exchange, an 8-year-old girl from Kansas said she did not want coal from Santa. Trump replied:
“You mean clean, beautiful coal?” — a phrase he has used before in his political messaging.
The First Lady focused on her own calls with children, while Trump waited to be connected to the next one and joked about how attentive she was to her conversations.
Trump’s Holiday Messaging
Though the calls were mostly festive in tone, Trump has previously blended holiday messages with political commentary. In 2024, he drew attention on social media with sharp remarks toward his political opponents.
On Christmas Eve this year, Trump also joked about global issues he would have to attend to after the calls, including efforts related to the war in Ukraine.
