President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have faced mockery after turning a Christmas tradition into a political platform. The couple participated in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa tracker phone calls on Christmas Eve, where they spoke with children tracking Santa's journey.
During the calls, Mr Trump made several political comments. He told one child, "Pennsylvania is great, we won Pennsylvania, actually, three times. We won it a landslide." To another, he said, "Santa loves Oklahoma like I do. You know, Oklahoma was very good to me in the election." He also joked about ensuring Santa does not "infiltrate" the country with a "bad Santa".
Social media users on X were quick to criticise the remarks. One user wrote, "I just hope that Trump doesn’t deport Santa." Others called him a "bumbling old fool" and described the calls as "so embarrassing". Another user made an extreme comment about drugs and Santa.
NORAD, which normally monitors airspace for threats, takes on the role of tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the tradition. According to NORAD, more than 100,000 calls had been received from families worldwide.
A senior NORAD official noted, "NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house."
