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On Christmas Eve, US President Donald Trump engaged with children during a call-in event tracking Santa's journey, blending festive cheer with political
jabs. While vacationing at Mar-a-Lago, he assured callers that a “bad Santa” wouldn’t be allowed to "infiltrate" the country. The president and first lady Melania Trump were participating in the tradition of talking to youngsters dialling into the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which playfully tracks Santa's progress around the globe. "We want to make sure that Santa is being good. Santa's a very good person," Trump said while speaking to kids ages 4 and 10 in Oklahoma. "We want to make sure that he's not infiltrated, that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa."
Trump defends coal in jovial Christmas calls with kids
The two took about a dozen calls between them. At one point, while his wife was on the phone and Trump was waiting to be connected to another call, he noted how little attention she was paying to him: "She's able to focus totally, without listening."
When an 8-year-old from North Carolina asked if Santa would be mad if no one leaves cookies out for him, Trump said he didn't think so, "But I think he'll be very disappointed."
"You know, Santa. he tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side. You know what cherubic means? A little on the heavy side," Trump joked. "I think Santa would like some cookies."
Also Read: Trump Scrolls White House's Christmas ‘Naughty List’ - And The Internet Breaks Out Laughing: What’s In It?
Asked by an 8-year-old girl in Kansas what she'd like Santa to bring, the answer came back, "Uh, not coal."
"You mean clean, beautiful coal?" Trump replied, evoking a favoured campaign slogan he's long used when promising to revive domestic coal production.
"I had to do that, I'm sorry," the president added, laughing and even causing the first lady, who was on a separate call, to turn toward him and grin.
"Coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that, at all costs," Trump said. "But you don't want clean, beautiful coal, right?"
"No," the caller responded, saying she'd prefer a Barbie doll, clothes and candy.
This year, the US government also released a video featuring President Trump reading from a so-called “naughty list” of alleged undocumented immigrants.
In the clip, Trump sits beside a crackling fireplace with milk and cookies nearby, while reading names from a long scroll. The video, titled “Lo-fi Criminal Illegal Alien Naughty List” and labeled as “live,” is accompanied by calming ambient music.
(With AP inputs)
