The President who stole Christmas …
▶ What’s the best way to deal with a seven-year-old asking about Santa Claus? Don’t ask Donald Trump
The US government shutdown may have temporarily dimmed Washington’s National Christmas Tree but Santa Claus still came to town – and the military was tracking his path.
As it has since the 1950s, the Canadian and North American Aerospace Defence Command, or Norad, gave live updates on the man in the red suit’s delivery route around the world.
And Norad’s army of volunteers who answer children’s calls about Santa this year included two very special elves – US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
The Trumps, who cancelled their holiday in Mar a Lago, their home and club in Florida, because of the shutdown, took a turn fielding calls from the White House on Monday night.
Mr Trump might have left one little boy doubting the existence of jolly old St Nick.
“Hello, is this Coleman? Merry Christmas. How are you? How old are you?” he said.
“Are you still a believer in Santa Claus? Because at seven it’s marginal, right?”
Melania skirted that sensitive issue in calls she answered. “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. Thank you. Nice talking to you,” she said to a caller.
Norad earlier eased the fears of good little boys and girls who were concerned that the tracker might be down after US politicians failed to agree on a budget, leading to a partial shutdown of federal services.
“In the event of a government shutdown, Norad will continue with its 63-year tradition of Norad Tracks Santa on December 24,” the agency tweeted.
“Military personnel who conduct Norad Tracks Santa are supported by about 1,500 volunteers who make the programme possible every year.”
The 3D, interactive website noradsanta.org showed Santa on his delivery route, allowing users to click and learn more about cities along the way.
Just after 7.45am UAE time, Father Christmas’s reindeer-powered sleigh was headed for Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, having already delivered more than 4.7 billion gifts.
The Santa tracker started in 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement misprinted a phone number to connect children with Santa and mistakenly directed them to the military hot line.
To avoid disappointing the eager children, Norad’s director of operations at the time, Col Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Santa might be and update the children on his location.
The Defence Department is able to follow Santa’s journey thanks to satellites that pick up heat from lead reindeer Rudolph’s bright red nose, which “gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch”,
magazine reported.