President Donald Trump transformed a cherished tradition of festive goodwill into a platform for partisan politics during his Christmas Eve phone calls with children. While participating in the annual NORAD Santa tracker event from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the President repeatedly injected unsubstantiated claims about his election victories and political commentary into conversations with young callers.
Election Claims Amid Festive Cheer
During calls with families across the United States on 24 December 2025, Trump consistently returned to familiar political themes. Speaking to a five-year-old boy from Pennsylvania who was checking on Santa's location, the President falsely declared, "Pennsylvania's great. We won Pennsylvania, actually, three times." Official results confirm he lost the state in the 2020 presidential election.
In a conversation with a four-year-old girl and ten-year-old boy from Sapulpa, Oklahoma, Trump stated, "Oklahoma was very good to me in the election. So I love Oklahoma." To a family near Tacoma, Washington, he insisted, "The country is doing well! We saved our country." These exchanges occurred during what is traditionally an apolitical event where US presidents help the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) provide Santa's imagined location to excited children.
Technical Difficulties and 'Bad Santa' Warnings
The festive proceedings encountered disruption during a separate call with service members, when technical difficulties caused both audio and video to fail completely. Trump joked, "I think that's the enemy doing it," before his aides began swiftly removing journalists from the room at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
Later, while reassuring the Oklahoma children about Santa, Trump introduced an unusual warning. "We track Santa all over the world. We want to make sure that Santa is being good," he told them. "We want to make sure that he's not infiltrating — that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa." He then clarified that Santa was indeed "good" and loved Oklahoma, as he did, advising the children never to leave the state.
Reaction and Social Media Fury
The President's blend of Christmas spirit and political messaging drew sharp criticism from opponents and left-leaning commentators on social media. Journalist Ron Filipowski remarked on Bluesky, "Little kid just wants to hear about Santa and Trump wants to talk about himself again." Other users on platforms like Bluesky and X described him as "a malignant narcissist" and "not right in the head."
Meanwhile, Trump's supporters on the MAGA circuit appeared to enjoy his characteristic style. The President had already set the tone earlier on Christmas Day with a combative message on his Truth Social network, stating: "Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly."
This episode follows a similar incident in 2018, when Trump risked spoiling the magic for a seven-year-old girl by asking if she was still a believer in Santa, noting "it's marginal, right?" The tradition of presidents taking NORAD calls continues, but the 2025 edition will be remembered for its distinctly political flavour.
