On Christmas Eve, President Donald Trump participated in a long-standing tradition by taking calls from children through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track Santa Claus. During the calls, Trump made headlines by emphasizing his views on coal, humorously declaring it to be “beautiful.”
In a light-hearted exchange, Trump asked a young girl named Amelia from Kansas what she would like Santa to bring her. When she replied, “Not coal,” Trump jokingly responded, “Not coal? No, you don’t want coal … You mean, clean beautiful coal. I had to do that, I’m sorry.” His comments about coal reflect his ongoing advocacy for fossil fuels as a means to bolster energy production in the United States.
Tradition of Tracking Santa
NORAD has been tracking Santa’s journey since 1955, and this year marked Trump’s participation alongside First Lady Melania Trump. The calls were broadcast on C-SPAN, bringing holiday cheer to families across the nation. Trump’s interactions with children were peppered with jokes and references to his political achievements, though these likely went unnoticed by the young callers.
After speaking with a 5-year-old from Pennsylvania, Trump remarked, “Pennsylvania is great, we won Pennsylvania, actually three times. We won it in a landslide, so I love Pennsylvania.” In the November 2024 election, Trump secured Pennsylvania with 312 votes and 49.8 percent of the popular vote, surpassing then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes and 48.3 percent. This marked a notable shift from the 2020 election, where Joe Biden won the state.
Engaging with Young Callers
During another call, a child from North Carolina inquired whether Santa would be upset if he found no cookies at their home. Trump assured the child, “I think he won’t get mad, but he’ll be very disappointed.” He humorously added that Santa “tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side,” encouraging the child to leave cookies for Santa due to his “serious appetite.”
Trump’s interactions with the children also included a response to a query about why NORAD tracks Santa. He explained, “We want to make sure that Santa is being good—that Santa is a very good person. We want to make sure that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”
This festive call session garnered significant attention on social media, particularly when Trump complimented an eight-year-old girl, calling her “so beautiful and cute” and noting her intelligence as “so smart.”
According to data from the White House, since January 20, 2025, over 605,000 individuals have been deported from the United States, with an additional 1.9 million reportedly self-deporting. These statistics reflect ongoing discussions surrounding immigration policies, which were subtly woven into the festive atmosphere of the NORAD calls.
The holiday tradition not only allowed Trump to connect with the younger generation but also provided a platform for him to share his political perspectives in a light-hearted context.
