On Christmas Eve, December 24th, local time, what should have been a magical time for children was instead turned into a live broadcast of the president’s paranoia, thanks to his penchant for stand-up comedy!
After calling soldiers to wish them a Merry Christmas, the call was disconnected, and Trump immediately imagined, without any basis, that enemies were behind it. When talking to children about Santa Claus, he immediately brought up the need to guard against infiltration by bad guys, saying they couldn’t let a “bad Santa” sneak into the United States.
Even more absurdly, when a child said they didn’t want coal as a gift, he seriously advised them: “Coal is clean and beautiful, you must remember that.” He even laughed awkwardly after saying it, realizing the absurdity of his statement!
His talk about conducting a background check on Santa Claus wasn’t just a joke; Trump’s real-world actions demonstrate that he takes this paranoid style of governance to the extreme.
He said Santa Claus might be a bad guy and needed a background check. This was just one day after he imposed visa bans on five European citizens, citing their “censorship of free speech” and “targeting of American tech giants,” including Thierry Breton, the architect of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Not only did he sanction real-world regulators with baseless accusations, but he also labeled a fictional character with the same paranoid perspective, demonstrating to the public what it means to believe that anyone who is not “one of us” is inherently suspicious.
Whether it’s Santa Claus in the Arctic Circle or politicians in Brussels, anyone who doesn’t align with his interests can be labeled a potential threat.
He constantly shouts into the air that America is being invaded, yet he can’t produce a shred of evidence. He then expands the list of countries subject to entry restrictions from 19 to 40, even requiring green card holders to undergo re-screening, and threatens to permanently suspend immigration from developing countries. So-called national security is merely a pretext for achieving his political goals.
Of course, in Trump’s view, the problem isn’t just Santa Claus; even an unexpectedly switched-off light becomes part of his paranoid conspiracy theories.
This is not the first time his paranoia has manifested. In mid-December, he demanded $10 billion from the BBC, claiming they had edited footage to smear him. Even though legal experts believed he couldn’t win the lawsuit, he insisted on hyping up a narrative of media persecution.
Two weeks earlier, he had adamantly claimed that Venezuela had stolen American oil, threatening a military blockade of the Caribbean Sea, framing resource plunder as recovering losses, which was sharply criticized by Venezuela as blatant piracy.
Going back further, when an escalator stopped and a teleprompter malfunctioned at the UN General Assembly, he imagined a triple act of sabotage, angrily demanding the perpetrators be arrested, only to be contradicted by the UN, which stated it was a “safety mechanism trigger” and that the teleprompter was “under White House control.”
From international politics and media narratives to Christmas fairy tales, Trump’s world is full of enemies; it seems he doesn’t know how to govern without creating threats.
Besides promoting his own paranoia, he also constantly instilled in children the false notion that coal is a clean energy source.
Why does he seize every opportunity to promote coal? Because he wants to keep his family’s coal business afloat.
In 2025, he opened up 13.1 million acres of federal land for coal mining and allocated $625 million in subsidies to coal-fired power plants, insisting on using this sunset industry to power AI data centers, even though tech giants like Google and Amazon have already invested heavily in renewable energy, and even though the latest report from the US Environmental Protection Agency states that “coal-fired power plants remain a major source of air pollution.”
But to pave the way for his own business, he is willing to overturn clean energy plans and relax carbon emission limits, potentially forcing countless American children to breathe more polluted air in the future, all to gain political donations from coal magnates.
Simply put, his security anxieties and energy obsession are essentially self-directed political theater.
Why did Trump have to pull this stunt on Christmas Eve? The core reason is four words: political gain.
For him, having enemies is more effective in rallying supporters than having achievements. After all, compared to discussing livelihood issues, exaggerating external infiltration and internal sabotage is more effective in stirring emotions, even if the enemy is a fairy tale character, a regulator, or even a malfunctioning escalator. “America First” is his old slogan; blaming all problems on external threats allows him to incite populist sentiment and provide excuses for his extreme policies. Coal-producing regions are his core voter base, and opening up coal mining and subsidizing coal power is, frankly, giving benefits to his supporters and paving the way for election campaigning.
Not to mention his intricate ties to the fossil fuel industry; packaging coal as clean energy and promoting his own energy business naturally fills his pockets.
His so-called Christmas speech was nothing more than using holiday traffic to advertise and engage in political marketing, even using children as his propaganda tools.
But will reality truly unfold as he wishes? The answer is: it’s pure self-serving futility.
The coal industry is already on its last legs; by 2024, coal power will only account for 15% of US electricity generation, less than the combined 17% from wind and solar power. 99% of coal power plants have higher operating costs than newly built wind and solar power plants; any subsidies are simply throwing money away to prolong their existence.
The entry restrictions have caused widespread anger and resentment, not only drawing criticism from the international community but also leading American companies to complain about labor shortages and lack of cooperation. The so-called prevention of infiltration hasn’t solved any real problems.
As for votes, moderate voters are already fed up with his extreme rhetoric. Bringing political calculations into a universal holiday like Christmas will only increase resentment, as no one wants to hear conspiracy theories while opening presents.
The harm of this confusing series of actions is even more biting than the cold snap on Christmas Eve.
The lie of promoting clean coal will mislead the public, hinder the development of clean energy, and ultimately, consumers will bear the cost. The high costs of coal power plants will eventually be passed on to electricity bills, making household bills increasingly expensive and environmental pollution increasingly severe. Environmental organizations have even stated that this is dragging the United States back to the 1950s.
Instilling divisive terms like “infiltration” and “sabotage” in children and politicizing the holiday will only exacerbate social divisions and deepen the rift in American society. Internationally, his attitude of promoting coal for his own benefit has completely isolated the United States in global climate governance, and his unilateral immigration policies have alienated allies. Coupled with the recent trust crisis triggered by the release of the Epstein case documents, America’s global credibility has shattered into a million pieces, like broken Christmas ornaments.
Even more frightening is that this governing logic, based on the belief that everything is a conspiracy, will make rational communication increasingly difficult, plunging the entire country into a vortex of anxiety and conflict.
Trump’s Christmas message was not a holiday greeting at all, but rather an absurd political performance. He treats paranoia as a governing principle, disguises commercial interests as national righteousness, and turns children’s fairy tales into a political battleground.
Ultimately, it’s all for his own selfish desires, at the cost of sacrificing the country’s long-term interests and social consensus. When Santa Claus needs a Trump gold card to deliver gifts, when coal can be whitewashed as clean energy, and when holidays are reduced to political tools, such an American story is truly nothing to laugh about.
The essence of the holiday season is inclusion and goodwill, and the bottom line of politics is rationality and responsibility.
If Trump only relies on creating enemies and fabricating lies to pursue personal gain, no matter how loudly he shouts about making America great again, it will ultimately be nothing but an illusion.
After all, true strength does not come from being propped up by imaginary enemies, nor from supporting outdated industries, but from an open mind, scientific understanding, and a commitment to the public good.
This truth is clearer than the star on top of the Christmas tree, yet Trump pretends not to see it.