Donald Trump has apparently joined the so-called War on Christmas.
The leading Republican candidate has made the eradication of the phrase “happy holidays” a part of his agenda. Yet despite repeated proclamations that, under his presidency, “We’re all going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again,” Trump promoted his new book, Crippled America, on Thursday, by declaring it “a great holiday gift.”
But at the 2015 Values Voter Summit in September, Trump said, “The word Christmas: I love Christmas. You go to stores now, you don’t see the word Christmas. It says, ‘Happy holidays’ all over. I say, ‘Where’s Christmas?’ I tell my wife, ‘Don’t go to those stores.’”
As the socially conservative audience applauded, he added, “I want to see Christmas—no, I want to see Christmas.”
“[Remember] the expression ‘Merry Christmas’? You don’t see it anymore,” he concluded. “You’re [going to] see it if I get elected, I can tell you right now. I can tell you right now.” He echoed the same exact sentiment two months later.
—Andrew Kirell