Spreading joy and good cheer from the White House on Christmas Eve, President Donald Trump answered a call from a 7-year-old child and then questioned her belief in Santa Claus, calling it “marginal” for a kid her age.
As children phoned the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Monday looking for St. Nick, Trump dealt out the candid comment to young Collman Lloyd, The Associated Press reported.
“Are you a still a believer in Santa? Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?” the president said.
He then paused, giving a chuckle, and adding, “Well, you just enjoy yourself.”
Sitting alongside the commander in chief was first lady Melania Trump, who was also picking up the phone, telling one caller that Kriss Kringle was out in the Sahara but would make it to the caller’s home in time for Christmas Day, according to the AP.
With evident excitement, she later tweeted, “Helping children across the country track #Santa is becoming one of my favorite traditions!”
Each year, NORAD tracks Santa’s travels around the world, offering updates on his whereabouts through U.S. military radar.
Despite the federal government shutdown, which took effect Saturday at the stroke of midnight, the tracker remains up and running.
Asked by a reporter about whether there was any progress on getting the government back in action, Trump said there was “nothing new,” noting that “we need border security.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Lloyd’s name and misstated her gender. It has since been updated.