President Donald Trump set off a Christmas social media storm when he asked whether a seven-year-old was too old to believe in Santa Claus, capping a week of plunging stocks, a government shutdown and the US defense chief’s unceremonious departure.
Twitter lit up like a Christmas tree after Trump made his remark during a holiday event with first lady Melania Trump, taking calls from children calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa tracker.
A Christmas tradition, the tracker delights children with “real-time” updates on Saint Nick’s Christmas Eve journey.
In one of the Christmas Eve calls, Trump chatted with a seven-year-old.
“Are you still a believer in Santa?” Trump asked the child. “Because at seven, it’s marginal, right?”
In a twinkling, Twitter was bombarded with messages railing against the president for what sounded to some as if he was casting doubts on a cherished fantasy of childhood.
“It’s just too freaking fantastic that Trump spent his Christmas Eve calling seven year olds and telling them believing in Santa at their age is ‘marginal,'” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on his Twitter account.
“Actually there is no heaven,” tweeted Dan Amira,…
