WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On Christmas Eve, President Donald Trump engaged with children eager to share their holiday gift wishes over the phone, while humorously vowing to prevent any “bad Santa” from crossing into the country. He even joked about the potential upside of a stocking filled with coal.

While enjoying a holiday retreat at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took part in a charming tradition. They chatted with children calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), an organization known for its whimsical tracking of Santa Claus on his global journey.

“We want to ensure Santa remains on the nice list. He’s a wonderful figure,” Trump remarked when conversing with children, aged 4 and 10, from Oklahoma. “It’s crucial that we don’t allow a ‘bad Santa’ to sneak into our country,” he added with a chuckle.

He offered no further explanation on the matter.

In previous Christmases, Trump has often taken the opportunity to address his political adversaries. In 2024, he notably tweeted, “Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics.” Reflecting on earlier times, on December 24, 2017, during his first term, he targeted a senior FBI official he perceived as biased, alongside his usual critiques of the media.

But Trump was in a jovial mood this time. He even said, I “could do this all day long,” but likely would have to get back to more pressing matters like efforts to quell the fighting in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

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’s — 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.”

The president and first lady Melania Trump sat side-by-side and 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.”

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 favored 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.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.