Trump: People ‘Proud’ to Say ‘Merry Christmas Again’
Monday, 25 Dec 2017 08:14 AM
The Christmas morning greetings followed a pair of Christmas Eve tweets Sunday that wished Americans a Merry Christmas, after the president posted a message that he’s “proud to have led the charge against the assault” of the phrase.
The video released Monday morning was pre-recorded at the White House before the couple left for their holiday vacation at their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, reports CBS News.
“My fellow Americans, Melania and I are delighted to wish America and the entire world a very Merry Christmas,” the president said in the couple’s first Christmas morning message from the White House.
The first lady added that at this time of year, “we see the best of America and the soul of the American people. She also paid tribute to “our brave men and women in uniform.”
The president further quoted a verse from the Old Testament book of Isaiah, reading the prophecy that “for to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Trump also said that “in the season of joy, we spend time with our families, we renew the bonds of love and goodwill between our citizens and most importantly we celebrate the miracle of Christmas. For Christians we remember the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that began more than 2,000 years ago.”
“People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again,” the president posted on Twitter on Christmas Eve. “I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!”
In the Christmas wish tweet that followed, the president posted a video clip of himself making a similar statement while lighting the national Christmas tree.
Trump’s Christmas tweets were met with mixed reactions, with some people thanking the president but many posting links to a compilation video produced by MSNBC, showing former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle saying “Merry Christmas” on several occasions during his presidency.
The tweets were in response to an ongoing argument that there is a “war” on Christmas, and that people are encouraged to say “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas.
However, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, more than three-quarters of Americans believe the issue was “made up for political purpose” than a real issue.
The president also, in a video conference aired from his Mar-a-Lago estate, told active-duty military personnel worldwide that he is proud to wish people a Merry Christmas again.
“I just want to wish everybody a very, very merry Christmas,” he said in the video. “We say Merry Christmas, again, very, very proudly.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Christmas Eve also took questions from children wanting to know where Santa Claus was.
Sitting in their living room at the Florida estate, where they are spending the holidays, the couple fielded calls on separate phones. The calls came by way of the Track Santa program operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Christmas tweets followed a day of airing grievances through Twitter, notes The Atlantic, beginning his Christmas Eve day by sharing his thoughts about Fox News stories through Twitter, and then by attacking FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who announced his retirement during the weekend.
He also retweeted an image from a supporter, shwing himself in the back seat of a limo, with a picture of the word “CNN” shown as a blood spot on the bottom of his shoe, before tweeting an attack on “fake news.”
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