Still a believer in Santa? Donald Trump trolled for Twitter reply to 7-year-old

Agencies

December 26, 2018

Washington, Dec 26: US President Donald Trump set off a Christmas social media storm when he asked whether a 7-year-old was too old to believe in Santa Claus, capping a week of plunging stocks, a government shutdown and the US defense chief`s unceremonious departure.

Twitter lit up like a Christmas tree after Trump made his remark during a holiday event with first lady Melania Trump, taking calls from children calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa tracker.

A Christmas tradition, the tracker delights children with "real-time" updates on Saint Nick`s Christmas Eve journey.

In one of the Christmas Eve calls, Trump chatted with a 7-year-old.

"Are you still a believer in Santa?" Trump asked the child. "Because at 7, it`s marginal, right?"

In a twinkling, Twitter was bombarded with messages railing against the president for what sounded to some as if he was casting doubts on a cherished fantasy of childhood.

"It’s just too freaking fantastic that Trump spent his Christmas Eve calling seven year olds and telling them believing in Santa at their age is `marginal,`" Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on his Twitter account.

“Actually there is no heaven," tweeted Dan Amira, head writer for "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" comedy show. "When you die you just rot in the ground and get eaten by worms. Okay Merry Christmas, Timmy.”

Others defended Trump.

"Trump does a lot of things wrong, but suggesting to a 7 year old that Santa doesn`t exist is probably the one right thing he`s done while in office," said a man identified on his Twitter account as Irtiza Sheikh. "Someone`s gotta do it."

The White House had no immediate comment on the social media response to the president`s Santa comments.

In 2017, Trump spent the holidays at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, with his family, but for his second Christmas as president, Trump opted to cancel his holiday getaway because of the partial federal government shutdown. It began last week when top lawmakers failed to end an impasse over funding for his proposed wall along the border with Mexico.

Stuck in Washington on Christmas morning 2018, Trump displayed little holiday cheer while speaking with reporters after a 20-minute video conference with US troops serving abroad.

He assailed the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, railed against Democrats who refuse to fund the wall he wants to build on the US-Mexico border, and blasted the investigation into his campaign`s ties to Russia, among other regular targets.

The president then closed with holiday wishes of sorts.

"It`s a disgrace, what`s happening in our country," he said. "But other than that, I wish everyone a very merry Christmas."

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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