Merry Christmas to the “wonderful soldiers of China” and to “Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada” and “the people of Greenland.” As for the 37 inmates on federal death row who recently received commutations from President Biden? “GO TO HELL!”
Such were the typically irreverent holiday greetings issued by President-elect Donald J. Trump on Christmas. In his messages on Truth Social, the online platform owned by his media company, Mr. Trump once again flaunted his penchant for smashing the norms and politesse that past occupants of the White House have often observed in their public pronouncements.
Mr. Trump’s Christmas sentiments addressed several of his recent concerns, including asserting U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, which he covets for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology.
“We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A.,” Mr. Trump wrote, “and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Here’s a look at how some past presidents have addressed the nation on Christmas, in times of war, recession and instability.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: “We set our faith in human love.”
On Dec. 24, 1941, just over two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt acknowledged that many Americans might be asking how they could celebrate Christmas “in a world at war, a world of fighting and suffering and death?”
Standing alongside Winston Churchill, he said the answer was clear. “Our strongest weapon in this war is that conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies — more than any other day or any other symbol,” the president said, according to The American Presidency Project at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
“Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practice them,” he said, “we set our faith in human love and in God’s care for us and all men everywhere.”
Calvin Coolidge: “The great sacrifice in defense of our ideals.”
On Dec. 24, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first national Christmas tree on the Ellipse, south of the White House, pressing a button that illuminated 2,500 electric lightbulbs, according to the White House Historical Association. He also sent a reassuring message to disabled American veterans of World War I, which had ended five years earlier.
“The heart of America is with those who made the great sacrifice in defense of our ideals,” he said. “Whether you continue in the hospitals fighting for recovery or are battling to reestablish yourself in civil pursuits, the nation will be mindful of its obligations to those so honorably stricken.”
Richard M. Nixon: “The spirit of Christmas is not measured by the number of lights on a tree.”
On Dec. 14, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon noted that, instead of many lights, there would be only a single illuminated star on the national Christmas tree, as the United States faced an energy crisis.
“And in a way, I suppose one could say with only one light on the tree, this will be a very dreary Christmas, but we know that isn’t true, because the spirit of Christmas is not measured by the number of lights on a tree,” he said. “The spirit of Christmas is measured by the love that each of us has in his heart for his family, for his friends, for his fellow Americans, and for people all over the world.”
Nixon also noted that it was the first time in eight years “when no American prisoner of war is away from home at Christmas.”
Ronald Reagan: “The light of freedom is not going to be extinguished.”
President Ronald Reagan’s first Christmas address in office came in 1981 as the American economy had entered a recession and tensions overseas were running high.
“Over the past year, we’ve begun the long, hard work of economic recovery,” he said. “Our goal is an America in which every citizen who needs and wants a job can get a job.”
Poland had recently declared martial law, and Mr. Reagan used his Christmas message to not only ask for faith in the United States, but to also warn about the threat posed by the Soviet Union.
“The Soviet Union, through its threats and pressures, deserves a major share of blame for the developments in Poland,” he said.
“Once, earlier in this century, an evil influence threatened that the lights were going out all over the world,” he added. “Let the light of millions of candles in American homes give notice that the light of freedom is not going to be extinguished.”
Barack Obama: “The spirit that binds us together.”
President Barack Obama would routinely post a Christmas video with his wife, Michelle, in which the two would lightly banter and then speak of national unity.
In their 2015 video, the president spoke of what he saw as values synonymous with the Christmas spirit. “Treating one another with love and compassion,” he said. “Caring for those on society’s margins.” He urged Americans to view their lives through that lens.
“That’s the spirit that binds us together,” Mr. Obama said. “Not just as Christians, but as Americans of all faiths. It’s what the holidays are about: coming together as one American family to celebrate our blessings and the values we hold dear.”
Joe Biden: “Really look at each other, not as Democrats or Republicans.”
Several hours before Mr. Trump posted his Christmas message this year, President Biden offered his own valedictory holiday greeting.
“For the last time as your president, it’s my honor to wish all of America a very Merry Christmas,” he posted on X. “My hope for our nation, today and always, is that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.”
Mr. Biden’s previous holiday messages have also urged hope and asked for American resolve. In 2022, when the country was reeling from the deaths and economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, his Christmas address asked Americans to find a “stillness” at the heart of the holiday.
“The pandemic has taken so much from us,” Mr. Biden said. “We’ve lost so much time with one another. We’ve lost so many people — people we loved.”
“Really look at each other,” he continued, “not as Democrats or Republicans, not as members of ‘Team Red’ or ‘Team Blue,’ but as who we really are: fellow Americans.”
The post ‘Go to Hell,’ ‘The Light of Freedom’ and Other Ways to Send Presidential Christmas Messages appeared first on New York Times.
