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President Trump and First Lady Speak with Children on NORAD Santa Tracker
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participated in the annual North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker program on Christmas Eve, speaking with children from their Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The presidential couple fielded calls from excited youngsters across the country, offering holiday cheer while responding to questions about Santa’s journey and children’s Christmas wishes.
During one exchange, a child mentioned wanting a Kindle e-reader for Christmas, prompting an enthusiastic response from the President. “That’s pretty good. You must be a high-IQ person. We need more high-IQ people in the country,” Trump remarked.
When an 8-year-old girl from North Carolina inquired whether Santa would be upset if she didn’t leave out cookies, the President offered a diplomatic answer. “I think he won’t get mad, but I think he’ll be very disappointed,” Trump said, adding that “Santa tends to be a little on the cherubic side.”
The calls took an unexpected turn toward policy matters when a child from Kansas, asked about Christmas wishes, specifically mentioned not wanting coal. Trump seized the opportunity to reference his long-standing energy policy position.
“Not coal. No, you don’t want coal. You mean clean, beautiful coal. I had to do that, I’m sorry,” Trump responded. He continued, “No, coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that at all costs.” This comment aligns with the President’s consistent advocacy for the coal industry throughout his administration, where he has frequently used the phrase “clean, beautiful coal” in speeches and public statements.
The coal industry has been a significant focus for the Trump administration, with the President implementing policies aimed at revitalizing coal mining communities, particularly in states like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Wyoming, where the industry has faced declining production amid competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources.
Regional politics also emerged during the calls. While speaking with a child from Oklahoma, the President referenced his electoral success in the state. “Santa loves you. Santa loves Oklahoma like I do. You know, Oklahoma was very good to me in the election. So, I love Oklahoma. Don’t ever leave Oklahoma, OK?” Trump said. Oklahoma has been a reliably Republican state in presidential elections, continuing that trend in 2024.
The NORAD Santa Tracker program has become a holiday tradition, with the defense organization using its radar systems to “track” Santa’s progress delivering gifts around the world. The program began in 1955 after a misprinted telephone number in a department store advertisement directed children to call what was then the Continental Air Defense Command operations center.
In a lighthearted moment during the calls, Trump joked about the tracking system’s security implications. “We track Santa all over the world. We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated — that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa,” he said. “We found that Santa is Good!”
The First Family’s participation in the NORAD calls continues a White House tradition that spans administrations of both parties, offering a moment of bipartisan holiday spirit during the often-polarized political landscape.
The President and First Lady also released their official Christmas portrait, showing them standing side-by-side amid festive White House decorations, continuing another longstanding presidential tradition that dates back decades.
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10 Comments
I wonder if the president was just trying to have some fun with the kids or if he was trying to push certain messages. The comment about needing more high-IQ people seems a bit odd in this context.
Yeah, that IQ remark came across as a little strange. Hopefully he was just joking around and not making any deeper political statements.
Interesting to see the president engaging with kids on the NORAD Santa tracker. It’s a lighthearted tradition, though the coal and intelligence comments were a bit unexpected.
You’re right, the policy talk seems out of place for a Santa call. But it’s good the president is keeping the spirit of the event alive.
The Santa tracker calls are a nice tradition, but it’s a shame the president couldn’t keep the conversation more lighthearted and focused on the kids’ excitement for Christmas. Bringing up coal and intelligence seems out of place.
While it’s great the president is continuing the NORAD Santa tracker tradition, I’m a bit concerned about the policy-oriented comments. Hopefully he was just trying to engage the kids in an unusual way and didn’t mean to politicize the event.
I’m curious to know more about the context around the coal and intelligence comments. Were the kids asking specifically about those topics, or did the president steer the conversation that way? It’s an unusual direction for a Santa tracker call.
Good question. The article doesn’t provide much detail on how those topics came up. It would be interesting to hear the full audio/transcript to understand the flow of the conversation.
The president’s Santa tracker calls seem to have taken an unexpected turn towards policy discussions. I wonder if he was trying to use the platform to push certain messages, or if he was just trying to have a lighthearted conversation that veered off course.
Good point. It’s hard to tell if the policy comments were intentional or just the president trying to engage the kids in an unorthodox way. Either way, it’s an unusual direction for a Santa tracker call.