White House defends Christmas as Christian holiday after WaPo criticism

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The White House remarked that Christmas will continue to be a holiday for Christians "celebrating the birth of their Savior" after a Washington Post article criticized the Trump administration's "explicitly sectarian" holiday messages.

On Friday, the Washington Post went viral after promoting an article that highlighted the more religious tone in many Trump officials' Christmas messages.

"Top officials in President Donald Trump's administration posted messages from their government accounts hailing Christmas in explicitly sectarian terms, such as a day to celebrate the birth of 'our Savior Jesus Christ,'" the article read.

The article included examples from the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who all described Christmas as a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

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Multiple Trump administration officials referred to Christmas as a Christian holiday. (Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)

"The messages sharply diverged from the more secular, Santa Claus-and-reindeer style of Christmas messages that have been the norm for government agencies for years," the article read. "The posts provided the latest example of the administration's efforts to promote the cultural views and language of Trump's evangelical Christian base."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stood by the officials' responses.

"While the Washington Post would prefer we stick to ‘Happy Holidays,’ we’re saying Merry Christmas again. And Christmas is a Christian holiday for millions of Christians celebrating the birth of their Savior, whether the Washington Post likes it or not," Jackson said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Washington Post for a response.

A White House spokesperson defended the officials' Christmas responses in a statement to Fox News Digital. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Other members of the Trump administration have also responded to the article on X.

"You really do not hate the media scum enough. Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, the Son of God. Our Republic was founded by men of God, based on Western Christian values. The West is the greatest civilization Mankind has ever known since it predicates rights given by God," Trump counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka wrote.

Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Mark Meador added, "Imagine how unhappy a person you have to be to write something like this. These people need Jesus."

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Conservative commentators also mocked the Washington Post for pushing what they saw as a secular view of a religious holiday.

"The 'Christ' in Christmas is a pretty strong signal that the entire foundation of the holiday is Christian. In fact, it might even be a sign that the whole reason for the season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God’s Son. You absolute clowns," The Federalist CEO Sean Davis wrote.

The Washington Post wrote that members of the Trump administration were expressing "explicitly sectarian" Christmas sentiments. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

RedState writer Bonchie commented, "They’ll dedicate dozens of days a year celebrating mental delusions about gender identity, but notice that Christmas is about Jesus Christ, and the great triggering begins."

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"Such a dumb thing to be outraged about at Christmas," radio host Erick Erickson remarked.

"It’s not sectarian to 1) Believe in the true God who alone created the universe and all that is in it. 2) Proclaim the good news that the Father sent His only begotten Son to earth to save us. There is either the true God or there isn’t, but if He doesn’t exist and rule over the earth then there’s little point in us living in our bubbles of false morality and 'right' and 'wrong.' There is no neutrality," Rep. Daniel Alders, R-Texas, commented.