Former US President Donald Trump has provoked bewilderment and criticism with a series of unusual Christmas messages, blending festive traditions with unfounded political grievances.
Election claims during Santa tracker calls
On Christmas Eve, Trump participated in the long-standing tradition of taking children's calls for the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) Santa tracker. However, the exchanges quickly diverted from seasonal cheer. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump told a five-year-old, "Pennsylvania’s great. We won Pennsylvania, actually, three times." This was a false claim, as he lost the state to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
In another call, while discussing the tracker, Trump stated, "We want to ensure that Santa is behaving. We want to make sure that he's not infiltrated, that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa." He then linked the conversation back to the election, adding, "Santa loves Oklahoma like I do. You know, Oklahoma was very good to me in the election."
Social media reacts with scorn
The 79-year-old's comments were met with immediate derision on social media platforms. Viewers described the interactions as "cringe" and accused Trump of undermining the holiday spirit.
One user on X, formerly Twitter, commented, "Trump is incapable of acting decently, even when speaking to a child…about Santa." Another wrote, "Always veers everything towards himself. Even tries to upstage Santa!" A third poster accused him of "destroying the spirit of Christmas," questioning where his supporters who often decry a "War on Christmas" were.
A history of controversial festive moments
This is not the first time Trump's holiday interactions have raised eyebrows. In 2018, during a similar call, he asked a seven-year-old boy named Coleman, "Are you still a believer in Santa?" before adding, "Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?"
The contentious tone continued on Christmas Day. The official Trump account on X posted a message that read: "Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly." This rhetoric echoed the sentiments of his supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the election result.
The episode highlights how, even during a season typically marked by unity and goodwill, Trump's public communications remain firmly anchored in the political divisions that have defined his career.
