Trump Basically Tells 7-Year-Old Santa Isn't Real

Trump gives 7-year-old girl a strong hint that Santa isn’t real — because of course he did

If you thought Melania’s blood-red White House Christmas tree decor scheme was mildly disturbing, just wait until you hear President Donald J. Trump come perilously close to ruining a seven-year-old’s belief in Santa.

I mean, chances are, he was legit asking because he himself wasn’t entirely sure if the big guy in red actually exists. But nah — he’s most likely just being his usual charming self, saying whatever in the heck pops into his orange head without regard for his audience. Here’s the awkward and awful moment:

“Are you still a believer? Because at seven it’s marginal, right?” he asks Collman Lloyd, the South Carolina child whose Christmas he almost destroyed.

Actual live footage of moms everywhere:

Trump was answering calls from kids coming in to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the organization that provides the yearly “Santa tracker” for excited children. It’s tradition for the president to take some calls along with NORAD staff members.

As parents, we all know how hard it can be to maintain a child’s innocent belief in Santa for at least a few precious years. The absolute last thing we need is the literal president planting seeds of doubt.

Luckily, little Collman’s parents claim the president’s doltish comments went right over her head, with her dad, Donald, telling BuzzFeed, “I think it’s crazy it became a big deal. It’s Christmastime. I’d love to keep politics out of Christmas,” he said. “It didn’t bother me — I like to talk to my kids like adults.” I suspect they’re possibly fans of the orange fellow in the Oval Office, because there’s no way this kid didn’t pick up on the gist of his words at least a little. My kids dissect my Santa claims right down to what pen and paper are used to wrap their gifts and write on the tags. Kids are a lot of things — but stupid isn’t one of them.

Hopefully, Collman’s childhood hopes and dreams weren’t totally dashed by the president and his ever-present case of foot-in-mouth. If they were, moms everywhere are ready to square up.