US President Donald Trump participated in the traditional Christmas Eve phone calls on Wednesday, answering calls from children who asked about Santa Claus and jokingly saying that the US military was tracking him "to assure that he wasn't infiltrating the country."
"We need to make sure that Santa is a good person, has not invaded our country, and is not a bad Santa," Trump said to a child during one of the calls held at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The president also told another child who asked for a doll house that "it would be taken care of," promising that "Santa would arrive tonight with gifts."
The event was centered on the NORAD Santa Tracker, which is conducted annually by the United States, commemorating 70 years since the first transmission in 1955.
What is NORAD's Santa Tracker
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint US-Canadian military command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has a Christmas tradition of keeping track of "the location of Santa Claus" ever since, in 1955, a Colorado Springs newspaper misprinted the telephone number of a department store for children to call and speak with Santa.
The listed number went to what was then known as the Continental Air Defense Command. An understanding officer took the youngsters' calls and assured them that Santa was airborne and on schedule to deliver presents to good girls and boys - at least those who believe in him - flying aboard his reindeer-powered sleigh.
According to its website, NORAD detects Santa's liftoff with its polar radar network, then follows his journey using the same satellites that warn of any possible missile launches aimed at North America.
NORAD has provided images and updates on Santa's worldwide journey for seven decades, while also performing its main task of monitoring air defenses and issuing aerospace and maritime warnings.