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The long-running controversy over Melania Trump’s apparent lack of enthusiasm for Christmas gained a new chapter on November 24, when she was seen leaving the traditional arrival ceremony for the White House Christmas tree after less than three minutes.

The First Lady lasted all of two minutes and 50 seconds welcoming the White House Christmas Tree before running back inside the presidential residence.trib.al/9xyZpgG

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T19:33:02.933673Z

Tasked with personally welcoming the tree selected for Christmas 2025 at the North Portico – and doing so without her husband, the president, at her side – the first lady briefly greeted the carriage and admired the fir before quickly retreating back inside, reigniting debate over her holiday role.

A leaked phone call

Melania Trump’s troubled relationship with Christmas in the public eye really dates back to a secretly recorded phone call from the summer of 2018, in which she vented to her then-advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff about having to plan the White House holiday décor while the administration was under fire for separating migrant families at the southern border.

In the audio, later released in October 2020 and aired by CNN, Melania can be heard saying that she was «working my ass off on the Christmas stuff» and asking «who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations?» before complaining that critics only raised concerns about separated children when she tried to highlight her holiday work.

Those comments landed on top of already polarizing reactions to her décor choices, like the stark white, branch-lined colonnade in 2017 and the blood-red conical trees of 2018, which drew mockery and horror-movie memes. Publicly, she defended her work, insisting the decorations were being unfairly judged. Speaking about the red trees, she said: «We are in 21st century, and everybody has different taste. I think they look fantastic. I hope everybody will come over and visit it.»

Over time, the contrast between her on-camera defense of Christmas décor and the leaked «who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff» tape helped cement her image as a kind of Christmas Grinch in U.S. political culture, with the quote resurfacing in coverage and on social media almost every holiday season.

«Who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations?»

Melania Trump

A quick photo-op

Melania Trump’s welcome of the 2025 White House Christmas tree lasted less than three minutes and looked more like a quick photo-op than a ceremony.

She walked out alone to the North Portico, briefly greeted the carriage drivers with polite small talk, posed a few seconds beside the tree for photographers, then turned around and went straight back inside without any real remarks or interaction beyond the bare minimum for the cameras.

Melania’s holiday business

Adding to the irony, Melania Trump now markets her own line of Christmas ornaments and holiday decorations, selling limited-edition pieces like the «American Star» for about 90 dollars as part of her patriotic 250 Collection through the USA Memorabilia site, where other designs in the set typically range from roughly 75 to 90 dollars each.

Melania Trump Launches American-Themed Christmas Ornament Line

— NEWSMAX (@newsmax.com) 2025-09-25T17:38:14Z

A leaked recording published by Bloomberg reveals that Steve Witkoff, who has served as the United States special envoy to the Middle East and special envoy for peace missions, advised senior Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov on how to present to Trump a peace proposal favorable to Russia in the Ukraine war.

Steve Witkoff is teaching a master class to Russian officials on how to get what they want from Donald Trump.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T00:07:38.030362Z

During the call, Witkoff reportedly suggested using flattering language such as «man of peace» to increase the likelihood that Trump would endorse a controversial 28-point pro-Kremlin peace plan for Ukraine.

«I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement, that you supported it, you supported it, that you respect that he is a man of peace and you’re just, you’re really glad to have seen it happen.»

How to win Trump’s backing

On 14 October, at a tense moment in the Russia-Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff held a call with senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov in which, according to the Bloomberg transcript reported by other outlets, he coached the Russian side on how to win Trump’s backing for a Russian-favored peace proposal, widely seen as running against the interests of Ukraine and Europe.

Witkoff advised that Putin should call Trump to congratulate him for the recent Gaza ceasefire, say that Russia had supported that deal, and present Trump as a man of peace before pivoting to Ukraine and to Moscow’s own peace terms. In the transcript, Witkoff reassures Ushakov that this flattering approach will help, telling him: «I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement, that you supported it, you supported it, that you respect that he is a man of peace and you’re just, you’re really glad to have seen it happen.» adding «From that, it’s going to be a really good call».

«We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you.»

A similar 20-point plan to peace

Witkoff then proposes explicitly borrowing the Gaza playbook and a similar structure, saying: «Here’s what I think would be amazing» before suggesting that Putin tell Trump: «Maybe he says to President Trump: you know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit, we’re open to those sorts of things».

In a separate passage quoted by The Guardian, Witkoff underscores the idea of transplanting Trump’s Gaza framework to Ukraine: «We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you».

Witkoff also reportedly offered guidance on how Putin himself should speak to Trump, urging the Kremlin to schedule a Trump–Putin phone call just before an important meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the White House last month.

US lawmakers from both parties have blasted Steve Witkoff for what they describe as openly favoring Russia in the Ukraine talks, with some going so far as to brand him a traitor and demand his removal. After the leaked Kremlin call was published, Democratic Representative Ted Lieu posted that Witkoff was an «actual traitor» and urged that he be fired, while Republican Representative Don Bacon similarly called for Witkoff to be dismissed over a peace plan he said was tilted toward Moscow’s interests.

«I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy.»

-Steve Witkoff

Other Republicans have voiced alarm in background comments, telling reporters they were «so alarmed by Witkoff’s apparent pro-Russian stance» that they raised concerns directly with senior Trump officials, adding to a growing bipartisan chorus that questions whether the president’s special envoy is defending US, Ukrainian and European interests or advancing those of the Kremlin.

In a March interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff signaled his favorability toward Russia by telling Carlson «I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy», calling the idea that Moscow wants to march across Europe «preposterous» and insisting «100% not» when asked whether Russia has such intentions.

Read a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president

— Bloomberg News (@bloomberg.com) 2025-11-25T21:30:36Z

Donald Trump unleashed a lengthy, furious post on Truth Social targeting The New York Times after its «Sign of Fatigue» article, accusing «the Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times» and declaring that the paper is «truly an ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE».

Donald Trump furiously lashed out at The New York Times for an article saying that he is showing signs of aging and has significantly reduced his workload in his second term.

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T13:33:36.397764Z

Trump claimed in his post that «they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE» and went after the woman who wrote the article, calling her a «third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.»

A series of sweeping claims

Trump’s tirade began with a direct attack, as he blasted «The Creeps at the Failing New York Times are at it again,» before launching into a series of sweeping claims about his victory in the 2024 race, his «great» economy, and the 8 wars he says he settled: «I won the 2024 Presidential Election in a Landslide, winning all Seven Swing States, the Popular Vote, and the Electoral College by a lot,» Trump explained, and he further boasted that «I won our Nation’s Districts by 2750 to 550, a complete wipeout.»

The president then escalated weirdly, declaring that: «I settled 8 Wars, have 48 New Stock Market Highs, our Economy is Great, and our Country is RESPECTED AGAIN all over the World, respected like never before.»

«To do this requires a lot of Work and Energy, and I have never worked so hard in my life.»

Signs of fatigue

The New York Times article portrayed Trump’s days at work as president as «shorter» and marked by «signs of fatigue,» suggesting that his long-cultivated image of «stamina and energy» is rapidly fading in his second term. The piece describes a president who can «doze off» during official events at the White House, with the Times effectively accusing Trump of becoming what he once claimed Biden was when he was president, someone who «sleeps all the time.»

These claims from The New York Times left the president furious, prompting him to insist on Truth Social just how hard he works, writing:

«To do this requires a lot of Work and Energy, and I have never worked so hard in my life.»

Trump went so far as to label The New York Times as «This cheap “RAG” is truly an “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.”» before personally turning on the journalist who wrote the article, saying: «The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.»

According to The New York Times, Trump now barely stands up in the Oval Office as he did before and can «doze on and off» in his presidential chair even in front of journalists.

The paper argues that the lack of clarity around his health and medical examinations only fuels public concern about the condition of the 79-year-old president, pointing in particular to the limited information released about a mysterious M.R.I. he underwent a few weeks earlier, which Trump himself brushed off by saying he had no idea what doctors had been looking at in these irregular tests.

On Truth Social, Trump brushed off the questions about his health and energy, insisting that he remains politically and physically strong: «Despite all of this, I have my highest Poll Numbers, ever, and with record setting investment being made in America, they should only go up. There will be a day when I run low on Energy, it happens to everyone, but with a PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (“That was aced”) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN, it certainly is not now!»

President Trump has always used his stamina and energy as a political strength. But that image is getting harder for him to sustain. Read more: nyti.ms/49MiIG5

— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-11-26T15:45:04.898874Z

In a move that has left some fans of Mark Carney turning their heads in confusion, the Canadian Prime Minister just inked a deal with one of the most controversial countries in the world: the U.A.E.

« We welcome U.A.E. investors to visit Canada — I will personally host them — to explore investment in Canada’s transformative projects, »

Mark Carney wrapped up his visit to Abu Dhabi before the weekend with a surprising announcement: that he had received the funding for his minerals processing project. The only kicker? It’s coming from a country allegedly funding war crimes in Sudan.

Critical minerals processing

The goal of the funding is Carney’s new critical minerals processing facility in Canada, and the initial investment will be just over $1bn.  

« [It] will expand critical minerals processing capacity in Canada, creating jobs, boosting [the] long-term supply of minerals essential to energy technologies and advanced manufacturing. More on that soon, »

Carney said the new project will further Canada’s economic growth, and that Canada is already “a global leader in AI, in quantum and life sciences. And we realize it’s time to begin to commercialize these strengths, for the benefit of humanity, »

Seeking trade expansion

The decision comes as Canada’s economy is struggling due to the trade war inflicted by Donald Trump. While neither the Canadian government nor the U.A.E. foreign ministry has confirmed where the rest of the reported $70bn will be invested, media reports have suggested the investments will be spread out, including into industries like energy, mining, and AI.

In a speech on Friday, the PM said he is « very confident » that Canada and the U.A.E. can more than double their trade in less than a decade.

He also included that Canada and the U.A.E. are ‘aligned’ as trading nations and ‘energy superpowers’ that are going green. That is the comment that sparked feelings in many of his supporters.

U.A.E. and Sudan

To insinuate that Canada and the U.A.E. are aligned in any way has struck a chord with people all over Canada.

Carney didn’t touch on this when he said that « To the uninitiated, Canada and the U.A.E. can appear as different as snow and sand, yet we’re deeply, deeply aligned.”

« Deeply deeply aligned »

Should Canada and the U.A.E. be deeply aligned?

According to human rights groups, the Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF) is committing a genocide in Darfur in western Sudan, while fighting a civil war with Sudan’s military rulers.

Carney claimed that “We did discuss the situation in Sudan,” but refused to go into detail.