On Christmas Eve, President Donald Trump engaged with children calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track Santa Claus. During these interactions, he humorously claimed that coal is “beautiful,” a nod to a long-standing tradition where children find coal in their stockings if they have been naughty. The event took place at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump asked one child, Amelia from Kansas, what she would like Santa to bring. When she replied, “Not coal,” Trump quipped, “No, you don’t want coal… You mean, clean beautiful coal.”
For over 70 years, NORAD has been answering calls from children each Christmas Eve, allowing them to follow Santa’s journey around the world. This year, Trump participated in the tradition alongside First Lady Melania Trump, with the calls broadcast on C-SPAN. The President frequently interjected jokes and pointed out his political achievements, though the significance of these remarks likely flew over the heads of the young callers.
Trump’s mention of “clean beautiful coal” relates to his administration’s push for increased energy production and the promotion of fossil fuels. His comments during the calls reflect a broader agenda aimed at lowering energy prices.
Engaging with Young Callers
The President’s light-hearted remarks were not limited to coal. After speaking with a five-year-old from Pennsylvania, he said, “Pennsylvania is great, we won Pennsylvania, actually three times. We won it in a landslide, so I love Pennsylvania.” Trump won the crucial battleground state in the November 2024 election, securing 312 electoral votes with 49.8 percent of the popular vote against then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 electoral votes and 48.3 percent of the vote. In the previous elections, Joe Biden had narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2020, while Trump had claimed it in 2016.
Another memorable moment occurred when a child from North Carolina asked if Santa would be upset if he did not find cookies. Trump responded, “I think he won’t get mad, but he’ll be very disappointed,” humorously adding, “Santa tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side.” He then encouraged the child to leave out cookies, noting, “I think Santa has a serious appetite.”
One interaction that gained traction on social media featured Trump complimenting an eight-year-old girl, calling her “so beautiful and cute,” and also stating that she sounded “so smart.”
Tracking Santa’s Journey
In his conversations, Trump explained to the children why NORAD tracks Santa. “We want to make sure that Santa is being good—that Santa is a very good person,” he said. He emphasized the importance of ensuring that “we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”
The calls to NORAD have a historical significance, with the organization making its first Santa tracking call in 1955. Each year, the initiative aims to provide joy and excitement to children across North America during the holiday season.
According to the White House, since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, over 605,000 people have been deported from the U.S., with an additional 1.9 million reportedly self-deporting. This statistic underscores the ongoing debates surrounding immigration policies in the United States, a topic that remains at the forefront of national discussions.
Trump’s Christmas Eve calls not only entertained young children but also served as a platform for him to highlight his political legacy and priorities, blending festive cheer with his administration’s messaging.