President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump joined the annual Christmas Eve tradition of taking calls from children tracking Santa’s journey around the world. The couple spoke with kids calling from different parts of the country as part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa tracker program.
According to The Sun, Trump is spending Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. During the calls, he connected with NORAD, which normally watches for threats in the sky but also tracks Santa’s movements every Christmas Eve.
In one light-hearted exchange, Trump spoke to a child from Oklahoma and turned the conversation into a playful joke about Santa Claus. He told the youngster that officials would make sure Santa was safe and that no “bad Santa” would be allowed to enter the country, drawing laughter with the remark.
The President joked about coal being clean and beautiful
Trump then reassured the child that Santa was a good figure who loves Oklahoma, adding a personal touch by saying he feels the same way. He also couldn’t resist slipping in a political aside, noting that Oklahoma had strongly supported him in the election.
Melania Trump also took calls in the background while the President spoke with children. In another clip, Trump asked a child what gifts they wanted for Christmas. When the kid joked about not wanting coal, Trump laughed and said, “You mean clean, beautiful coal?” He looked at the cameras and added that coal is “clean and beautiful.”
The light-hearted exchange showed a different side of Trump, unlike recent moments where his controversial statements about historical events caught attention. During a previous year’s Santa tracker event, Trump nearly spoiled Christmas for a seven-year-old boy with an awkward comment.
He asked the child, “Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?” He then told the boy to enjoy himself. The NORAD Santa tracker has been following Santa’s Christmas Eve journey for 70 years.
The tradition started in 1955 when a child from Colorado Springs called what was then the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, trying to reach Santa at the North Pole. The phone number in a newspaper ad was wrong and connected callers to NORAD instead.
Since then, the organization has helped children track Santa every year. Today, NORAD offers an interactive tracker on its website and mobile app. Trump was heard laughing during the calls as he asked children where they lived and what Santa would bring them, though the festive atmosphere contrasted sharply with his recent threatening message to ISIS.
Published: Dec 27, 2025 12:45 pm