Subject: In town pool 2 NORAD Santa tracker event + Trump quote on shutdown
First Trump on shutdown:
“Nothing new on the shutdown. We need more security”
So it was the night before Christmas, and all through the White House...
It’s Day 3 of the partial government shutdown. POTUS has been Tweeting all day on various and sundry topics (“I am all alone”) including news that he just let a contract for 115 miles of “the Wall” in Texas. (See your Twitter feed).
In the first public event of the day, POTUS and FLOTUS invited pool at 6:30 pm to witness them participate in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls from random kids around the country.
We were ushered into the State Dining Room, where POTUS and FLOTUS day at chairs and tables with separate phones before a crackling fire.
Trump made his shutdown remarks to pool as we were ushered out.
Details tk.
Subject: In town pool report 3: Dinner lid called till 9:30 pm and details on NORAD calls
As pool was allowed into the State Dinning room 6:30 pm the president and First Lady were already on their separate phones, talking to children whose calls to NORAD had been patched through to the White House lines.
POTUS, to our right, was in a black suit with a red striped tie.
The First Lady, to our left, wore a high neck black sheath dress and what looked like high reddish or maroon heels.
They sat at separate wooden end type tables, framing a full crackling fire in the hearth behind them (under the portrait of Lincoln). Two Christmas trees also flanked the hearth.
Trump (in booming voice) to a kid named Coleman: “Hello, is this Coleman? Merry Christmas. How are you? How old are you?.... Are you doing well in school? Are you still a believer in Santa?”
Melania (in a soft voice) to unidentified child: “How are you? Are you tracking Santa? ...I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. Thank you. Nice talking to you.”
Trump to another kid on the line, possibly from Indiana: “What’s Santa going to get you for Christmas? Who’s with you....Have a great Christmas., and I’ll talk to you again, OK?”
Melania to another child: “Are you tracking Santa? Do you know where he is?... I hope your dreams come true”
Trump also could be heard asking kids where they were from and then thanking a general, possibly from NORAD or the North American Aerospace Command.
We could only hear the Trumps’ end of the conversation.
Intriguing to hear Trump end one convo by saying, “Talk to you tomorrow. Talk to you soon.” (Possibly a general?)
Calls were still ongoing when the pool was ushered out after five minutes, when Trump answered a shouted pool question about news on the wall (see pool report 2).
BTW, Santa Tracker is a 63-year tradition of tracking Santa’s sleigh from the North Pole to children all over the world. Despite the shutdown, military personnel were on the operation, as were, reportedly, some 1,500 people who volunteer each year.