Is it even Christmas at the White House without NORAD’s annual Santa-tracking tradition? Melania and Donald Trump engaged in the annual session. However, the entire drill was eclipsed by another moment.
Donald Trump was all praises for the First Lady, Melania Trump. “How are you doing, First Lady? Oh, look at you! Isn’t this the greatest First Lady? People love our First Lady, right honey?” an excited Donald Trump said during the session.
The President added, “Look at her, how elegant is the First Lady. Look at you. I’m not supposed to be doing this.” However, Donald Trump’s enthusiastic little speech was met with a rather cold response from Melania. She shaded Donald Trump by simply responding, “Anybody else? Are they calling?”
Trump: How elegant is the first lady? Look at you. I’m not supposed—
Melania Trump: Anybody else? Are they calling? pic.twitter.com/UNBlzY6O7P
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 24, 2025
Needless to say, the video of Melania and Donald Trump’s awkward interaction went insanely viral on social media. An X user dropped this comment on the video, “Her acting is just slightly better than Erika Kirk; she’s miserable there.” The comment was with respect to Erika Kirk’s latest (and super frequent) public appearances and statements post the death of her husband, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated earlier this year.
Another one wrote, “Lol, ‘elegance’ is subjective, but I think she just low-key shaded him with that dismissive laugh and swift exit.” A third one read, “This was painfully awkward.”
Inputs from another X user: “She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say.” Similar thoughts echoed throughout the X thread, with remarks like “Such an awkward dynamic for a couple that’s been married 20 years” and “Look at Melania’s body language? She looks repulsed” popping up.
A glance at some more comments on Melania and Donald’s awkward interaction. “It seems like she hates him…just saying,” a netizen wrote. Adding to that, another commented, “Body language experts will have a field day with this.” Here’s what another Internet user had to say: “This gave me such secondhand embarrassment. Could barely watch.”
Melania and Donald Trump are no strangers to controversy. Earlier this month, Melania released the trailer of her upcoming eponymous documentary, chronicling her life as a First Lady. A segment from the trailer featured Melania shading Trump of sorts.
After Trump won the 2024 elections as President, Melania wished him on a phone call, saying, “Hi Mr. President. Congratulations.” When Trump asked her if she watched it, Melania’s response was this: “I did not. I will see it on the news.” The scene became the Internet’s latest obsession and led to multiple memes being produced as well.
MELANIA, the film, exclusively in theaters worldwide on January 30th, 2026. pic.twitter.com/n2kloQ4JwW
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) December 17, 2025
Darren Stanton, a body language expert, even tried to decode Melania’s mannerisms throughout the documentary, especially the phone call to Donald Trump bit. Summing it up as a “moment of annoyance,” Darren told Unilad, “There’s also another moment when she’s on the phone with him, and her facial expression is one of annoyance. It’s clear that there are times in the marriage when he does annoy her, and she doesn’t hide it.”
“This new trailer presents Melania Trump as a highly confident and powerful woman in her own right. She’s been in the background for quite some time. Although she has often appeared alongside Donald Trump at press calls, it’s clear she has grown frustrated with being seen as a semi-silent figure standing at his side while he receives all the attention and limelight,” the body language expert was quoted as saying by Unilad.
