Joe Biden declined to take phone calls from children about Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve – something the president has traditionally done in recent years.
Instead, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden could be seen picking up the phone while sitting in front of a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
It’s almost time to set out the cookies and get the reindeers’ carrots ready — @NORADCommand just said Santa is on his way to your neighborhood! pic.twitter.com/mr307lTCr9
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) December 25, 2022
‘It’s almost time to set out the cookies and get the reindeers’ carrots ready — NORAD Command just said Santa is on his way to your neighborhood!’ she tweeted on Saturday evening.
There was no explanation from the White House as to why the 71-year-old first lady was the one making the calls rather than her 80-year-old husband, however during last year’s event there was an awkward exchange when one parent used the phonecall to insult the commander-in-chief.
Biden – who at 80 is the oldest president in history – has also faced questions about whether he is mentally-fit for office after a series of gaffes.
A dad named Jared beaming in from Oregon said ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ – code on the right for ‘f**k Joe Biden’ – after his kids told the president what they wanted from Santa Claus.
Biden seemed unphased at the time. ‘Let’s Go Brandon, I agree,’ the president said in response.
This year, Biden posted a picture of him and his wife decorating a Christmas tree at the White House. It is not clear when the picture was taken.
Just a few finishing touches! Hope you and your loved ones are having a great Christmas Eve. pic.twitter.com/zdCjjRrI9o
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 25, 2022
‘Just a few finishing touches! Hope you and your loved ones are having a great Christmas Eve,’ the president wrote.
Presidents have traditionally been known to take calls from children on Christmas Eve since 1955 when a misprinted advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper directed kids to call Santa at the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center.
The director of operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to give all children who called a ‘current location’ of Santa Claus.
The tradition has continued every year since, with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) taking over the tracking of Santa in 1958.
Every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the tradition and it is not clear if there has ever been a time when a president did not take these calls.
Biden has not had too much success when it comes to public phone calls recently.
Last month the president and first lady suffered awkward technical difficulties while calling in to NBC’s Thanksgiving Day parade broadcast.
Reporter Dylan Dreyer was forced to wait an excruciating 17 seconds for a reply to her excited ‘Hello Mr President’ while reporting from the New York City parade in Manhattan.
Before Biden addressed her, the present could be heard talking to his wife with the pair apparently expressing confusion over the connection issues.
Biden stepping away from the Christmas Eve phone call tradition rounds off a year full of gaffes for the 46th president at a time when he is relatively shielded from the media.
