During a light-hearted moment on Christmas Eve, U.S. President Donald Trump drew attention for his comments while taking part in the traditional NORAD Santa Tracker calls, an annual event that allows children to follow Santa Claus’s journey around the world.

Speaking from his private residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump joined the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) call center, where children’s calls were patched through to the president. The tone was informal, playful and, at times, unmistakably Trumpian.

“We’re monitoring Santa all over the world because we want to make sure he’s good,” Trump told Jasper, a 10-year-old calling from Oklahoma. “We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated, that we’re not letting a bad Santa into our country.” The president quickly reassured the child that Santa had passed inspection. “We found out that Santa is good. Santa loves you. Santa loves Oklahoma,” he added, before reminding Jasper not to ever leave the state.

Dressed in a suit and gold tie, Trump conducted the calls on speakerphone while reporters observed from the ornate surroundings of Mar-a-Lago. Melania Trump, seated nearby with her back to the president, took her own calls more quietly, offering classic holiday advice to children. “I think it’s best if they go to sleep,” she told one caller. “And then Santa will arrive to your house.”

The calls continued with children from North Carolina, Kansas, Pennsylvania and other states, touching on familiar Christmas concerns such as cookies for Santa and the fear of receiving coal in their stockings. When one child asked if Santa ever gets mad when cookies are forgotten, Trump replied that Santa would not be angry — “but I think he’ll be very disappointed

Throughout the event, a military general updated the president on Santa’s supposed location — over Sweden, Copenhagen and later heading toward the United States — reinforcing the whimsical spirit of the NORAD tradition, which dates back to the Cold War era.

As the calls wrapped up, Trump remarked that he could do the activity “all day long,” before acknowledging that global issues awaited his attention. The exchange, widely shared on social media, blended holiday charm with political overtones, turning a long-standing Christmas tradition into another memorable moment of Trump’s presidency.