WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., 25 December (H.S.): President Donald Trump spent Christmas Eve fielding calls from children across the United States, blending light-hearted banter with trademark political messaging as he warned against a “bad Santa” infiltrating the country and extolled the virtues of “clean, beautiful coal.”

Christmas Eve at Mar-a-Lago

Vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president joined First Lady Melania Trump in participating in the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) long-standing tradition of Santa-tracking calls, speaking with youngsters eager for updates on Saint Nicholas and their gifts.

The couple sat side by side near a decorated Christmas tree, with Trump using a speakerphone and the first lady on a handset, as they took turns answering calls from children around the country for more than 20 minutes.

‘Bad Santa’ and border-style rhetoric

In one exchange with a child from Oklahoma who asked why Santa was being tracked, Trump replied that authorities wanted to ensure Santa had not been “infiltrated” and that the United States was not allowing a “bad Santa” into the country.

He reassured the caller that “Santa is good,” adding that Santa “loves Oklahoma,” and urged the child, “Don’t ever leave Oklahoma,” while recalling how strongly the state had supported him in past elections.

Trump also seized on a classic holiday trope when an 8‑year‑old girl from Kansas said she did not want coal in her stocking, responding with a chuckle, “You mean clean, beautiful coal?” and apologetically noting he “had to do that.”

He went on to insist that coal is “clean and beautiful” and urged the child to “please remember that, at all costs,” even as she made clear she preferred a Barbie doll, clothes and candy instead of any fossil-fuel-themed gift.

Throughout the calls, Trump mixed seasonal warmth with his characteristic asides, describing Santa as “a little bit on the cherubic side” and joking that the man in red would be disappointed if children failed to leave out cookies.

In conversations with children from states such as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, he again referenced his electoral victories and affection for those states, at one point claiming he had won Pennsylvania multiple times “by a landslide,” despite having lost it in 2020.

The president repeatedly remarked that he “could do this all day long,” but noted he would soon have to return to pressing issues, including efforts related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Even as the event remained largely jocular and family-friendly, his comments on a hypothetical “bad Santa” and on “clean, beautiful coal” ensured that familiar themes from his political brand threaded through an otherwise traditional Christmas Eve ritual.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar