Donald Trump the candidate barnstormed the country ahead of the 2016 election with a singular pledge.
“If I become president,” he vowed, “we’re going to be saying Merry Christmas at every store. … You can leave happy holidays at the corner.” Since taking office, he’s worked hard to keep his word, making mention of the holiday at every opportunity while compulsively adorning public appearances with Christmas trees and other seasonal tokens.
Last month, at the 95th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting, Trump stood up and told the American people, “Merry Christmas, everybody” – a defiant departure from a year earlier, at the 94th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting, when President Barack Obama said to the American people, “Merry Christmas, everybody.”
Yet try as he might, there’s something about Christmas and Trump that don’t always agree. It’s because there’s a better match out there: Festivus. Yes, Donald J. Trump is America’s first Festivus President.
The holiday, now celebrated annually by such luminaries as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, takes its name from an episode of “Seinfeld” in which George Costanza’s father, Frank, introduces friends and family to a Christmas-adjacent alternative.
“The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances,” he explains. “I got a lot of problems with you people. Now, you’re going to hear about it.”
For Trump, every day is Festivus day. He moves through life in a near-constant state of aggravation. Wronged, slighted, dismayed – the President airs his grievances year-round. These have been a few of his targets.
