‘Twas another Christmas for the books. Chestnuts were roasted, pots were scrubbed clean, presents were given and received. President Trump, for one, heavily anticipated this year’s celebrations after claiming that the nation has ceased to openly wish each other a “Merry Christmas” because “it’s not politically correct.”
Restoring this phrase was one of the talking points of his presidential campaign, and he promised supporters he would spearhead the fight to win the “war on Christmas.”
At the annual Values Voter Summit this year, he vowed to Christian conservatives that his administration is “stopping cold the attacks on Judeo-Christian values.”
“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore,” Trump stated. “They don’t use the word ‘Christmas’ because it’s not politically correct. You go to department stores, and they’ll say ‘Happy New Year,’ or they’ll say other things, and it’ll be red. They’ll have it painted… Well, guess what? We’re saying ‘Merry Christmas!’ again.”
In a pro-Trump America First Policies ad that came out right before the holiday, a little girl closes the video by thanking the president for “letting us say” the phrase again.
On Christmas Eve, Trump boasted about his proclaimed triumphs, writing: “People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again. I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!”
People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again. I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2017
Twitter reacts
Some people shot back that the “war on Christmas” isn’t legitimate:
People have always said Merry Christmas and always will. Stop creating conflict where it doesn’t exist and strictly for your personal benefit. It’s petty.
— Pam Diagostino (@pdiag23) December 26, 2017
.Dear Mr “President”
People have continuously been saying Merry Christmas for over a thousand years. Don’t take credit for it.— Cheryl Michaels (@CherylMichaels1) December 26, 2017
And that his fight to “bring back” the phrase represents a bigger issue of bigotry:
You do realize that many people in our great nation are not Christian?! Our family celebrates Christmas and Hanukkah, many of our friends are Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and other faiths. Christmas is not celebrated by everyone.
— Blythe D (@BlytheDallet) December 26, 2017
This is a very non-Christmas spirit thing to say. No one was against saying the phrase. Please stop turning a season of mutual love into one of anger and hate. Thank you.
— Larry Nocella (@LarryNocella) December 26, 2017
Some pointed out that under the Obama administration, “Merry Christmas” was still very much used throughout the nation:
— Kendall (@kendallm98) December 26, 2017
Or anytime while @POTUS44??? #TrumpLies pic.twitter.com/1oOWxlZOW4
— ?BlueTexan?? (@lkjtexas) December 26, 2017
Others thanked the president for sticking to his word:
The candidate @realDonaldTrump
promised to bring “Merry Christmas” back. And on his first Noel as President @POTUS surely has done that and more…
Under President Trump, America’s Best Years Are Yet to Come.MERRY CHRISTMAS AMERICA
??????????? pic.twitter.com/M8lFUZw379— ??Sophia?? (@surfermom77) December 25, 2017
During the campaign, Mr Trump promised to bring the term “Merry Christmas” back to the United States.
Promise made, promise delivered.
Merry Christmas, Mr President.#MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/UwWrf4ZUcN
— Mike (@Fuctupmind) December 25, 2017
And some even called him out for tweeting “Happy Holidays” in the past:
Are you at war with yourself. pic.twitter.com/xvju27lrlV
— Atlantic Station (@BOX10ENTGROUP) December 26, 2017
DELUSIONAL DON pic.twitter.com/qi4vc8vr4q
— Dave (@idol1236) December 26, 2017
Trump’s children tweet “Happy Holidays”
Though the president has declared that he’s more or less fed up with the idea of using more inclusive season’s greetings around the holidays, some of his children still seem to be offering up these messages.
A week before Christmas, Eric Trump wished his followers a “Happy Holidays”:
Happy Holidays from https://t.co/jU9UtpVgYR! ???☃️ pic.twitter.com/qiFcqZ5MwH
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) December 18, 2017
Ivanka, who converted to Judiasm shortly after marrying husband Jared Kushner, took to Twitter with the following:
Happy Holidays! ? pic.twitter.com/XLBj2zg2Ql
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 12, 2017
In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Ivanka described her conversion as “such a great life decision.” She continued: “I am very modern, but I’m also a very traditional person, and I think that’s an interesting juxtaposition in how I was raised as well. I really find that with Judaism, it creates an amazing blueprint for family connectivity.”
In fact, Ivanka didn’t post a “Merry Christmas” message on social media at all this year — she lit the menorah with her loved ones instead.
