Donald Trump asks 7-yr-old if he believed in Santa Claus & Twitterati is not impressed
Washington, Dec 25: US President Donald Trump on Monday, December 24, showed his lighter side amid the growing tensions both in the country's domestic and foreign affairs, by asking a seven-year-old child whether he believed in Santa Claus.
In a Christmas Eve call, Trump asked the kid named Coleman whether he still believed in Santa and that at the age of seven, it's "marginal". The boy's response could not be heard but Trump was seen smiling hearing the response.
The call took place on Monday evening when Trump and First Lady Melania spoke to children whose calls to North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) Santa tracker were patched through to the White House.
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Trump wished Coleman a Merry Christmas and asked his age and his plans for Christmas and how his school was going.
"Well, honey, happy Christmas, and you just take care of yourself and say hello to your family, OK? Say hello to everybody," he said.
Melania Trump later said on Twitter that helping children track Santa has become a favourite tradition for her. The first couple had taken part in phone calls last year as well.
Helping children across the country track #Santa is becoming one of my favorite traditions! @Potus and I enjoyed working with @NORADSanta - #ChristmasEve pic.twitter.com/CYNkARbFaI
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) December 25, 2018
The Norad has made it a tradition since 1955 of using its radar system to track an imagined Santa on his trip around the globe every Christmas Eve.
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Trump's take on the matter, however, earned him criticism too as many thought his question could have ruined the kid's Christmas Day excitement. The New York Times even gave an interesting headline to the article on the same: "Kids, Please Do Not Read This Article on What Trump Said About Santa Claus."
Here are some of the reactions that the Twitterati came up with against Trump for ruining a youngster's fun:
Supervillain. https://t.co/jFJkhlltEG
— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorMade) December 25, 2018
Earlier tonight walking next to some tourists on M Street, I heard the kid ask his parents if Santa was shut down too. The mom replied, "No, even Trump can't screw that up."
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 25, 2018
He screwed it up! https://t.co/u8kHIS5Jwb
Donald Trump asking a 7-year-old if they still believe in Santa is to Christmas as Steven Mnuchin is randomly reassuring us that banks aren’t in a liquidity crisis. https://t.co/gjDdqFOA6b
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) December 25, 2018
One thing about a pathological liar is they never know when it’s the right time to tell the truth. https://t.co/UHw89XrgGc
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) December 25, 2018
So, I did this once to an eight-year-old, expressing disbelief that he still believed in Santa. The difference is, I was six. https://t.co/O0ZhQXnu2a
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 25, 2018