Trump tells children he won't let 'a bad Santa' infiltrate US - and discusses 'beautiful' coal

Donald Trump told children he would not let a "bad Santa" infiltrate the US, as he took part in a long-standing Christmas tradition.

Sat by a Christmas tree at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the president and first lady took calls from youngsters who had dialled into the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), which tracks Santa's sleigh around the globe every Christmas Eve.

When asked by two children, aged four and 10 from Oklahoma, why Santa is being tracked, Mr Trump replied: "We want to make sure that he's not infiltrated, that we are not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa."

As Mr and Mrs Trump took about a dozen calls between them, the president frequently praised the state of the country, saying it is "in great shape" and the "numbers are great".

To an eight-year-old girl in Kansas, who said they did not want coal as a gift, Mr Trump said: "You mean clean, beautiful coal. I had to do that, I'm sorry."

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He added: "Coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that, at all costs. But you don't want clean, beautiful coal, right?"

"No," the caller responded, saying she'd prefer a Barbie doll, clothes and sweets.

In another call, to an eight-year-old from North Carolina who asked if Santa would be mad if no one leaves cookies out for him, Mr Trump said he didn't think so, but he would be "very disappointed".

"You know, Santa's - he tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side. You know what cherubic means? A little on the heavy side," the president joked.

"I think Santa would like some cookies."

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The president appeared in a jovial mood, saying he could take calls "all day long" but quickly added that he would likely have to get back to "other things" including Ukraine, Russia and China.

At another point, while the first lady was on the phone, Mr Trump noted how little attention she was paying to him, saying: "She's able to focus totally, without listening."

He also said he loved Pennsylvania when speaking to a five-year-old boy in the state, adding that the Republicans won it in a "landslide" during the last election.

In a post on Truth Social after wrapping up the calls, Mr Trump wrote: "Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our country, but are failing badly."

(c) Sky News 2025: Trump tells children he won't let 'a bad Santa' infiltrate US - and discusses 'beautiful' coal