Trump pitches ‘clean, beautiful coal’ during playful banter with kids on Santa hotline calls

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: On Christmas Eve, President Trump took part in the long-running holiday tradition of answering calls from children through the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline.

Speaking with young callers eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival, Trump mixed festive cheer with playful banter, even jokingly promoting coal as a potential stocking stuffer during the lighthearted exchange.

The calls took place from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Wednesday, December 24, where he joined First Lady Melania Trump in speaking with families across the country. Throughout the event, Trump reassured children about Santa’s journey while sprinkling in humor that reflected his familiar public persona.

Trump’s coal pitch during Santa hotline calls

During one call, Trump spoke with 8-year-old Emilia from Kansas and asked what she wanted for Christmas. When she rejected the idea of receiving coal, Trump jokingly pushed back.

“No, you don’t want coal?” he asked.

He then attempted to reframe the pitch, adding, “Well, coal is — you mean clean, beautiful coal.”

“I had to do that, I’m sorry. No, coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember at all costs. But you don’t want clean, beautiful coal, right?” he continued.

“No!” Emilia replied firmly.

Trump then asked what she wanted instead. Barbies topped her list, followed by clothes and candy.

“Well, you’ll get that, I’m sure,” Trump said, before adding, “Well, candy is good. Candy is good… you eat as much as you want. Be healthy, okay?”

Throughout the exchange, Trump kept the tone light and playful, clearly leaning into the holiday spirit.

Donald Trump jokes about ‘bad Santa’ and holiday traditions

In another call, Trump spoke with 10-year-old Jennifer from Oklahoma, who was joined by her 4-year-old sister, Anastasia.

During the conversation, Trump jokingly warned about a “bad Santa” entering the country.

“We track Santa all over the world. We want to make sure that Santa is being good. Santa is a very good person,” he said. “We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrating, that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”

He then reassured the children, saying, “So we found out that Santa is good. Santa loves you. Santa loves Oklahoma, like I do,” before promising them “the most beautiful doll house you’ve ever seen.”

Trump also joked with other callers throughout the event. He told an 8-year-old girl from North Carolina that Santa might be disappointed if she didn’t leave out cookies, adding that Saint Nick had a “serious appetite.”

In another moment, Trump praised a child who asked for an Amazon Kindle, calling it the choice of a “high IQ person.”

A boy from Pennsylvania later told Trump he had “voted” for him, prompting the former president to reply with a laugh, “I bet your mom voted properly.”

The NORAD Santa Tracker calls capped off a Christmas Eve that also included golf and remarks to military members, during which Trump highlighted newly announced $1,776 Christmas bonuses for service members.