Donald Trump¹ has asked a young girl if she still believes in Santa Claus while taking calls from children on Christmas Eve.

唐纳德特朗普圣诞节前夕接听儿童的电话时问一个年轻女孩是否仍然相信圣诞老人。

The president was taking part in a Santa-tracking programme set up by the North American Defense² Command (NORAD), which allows children to call up and find out where Santa and his reindeer³ are in the world.

总统参加了由北美防务司令部（NORAD）设立的圣诞老人追踪项目，该项目让儿童可以通过打电话来确认圣诞老人和他的驯鹿位置。

One seven-year-old named Collman, whose call was patched through to the president, was told that believing in Santa at his age was "marginal".

一位名叫科尔曼的七岁男生的电话被接到总统那里，他被告知，在他这个年纪相信圣诞老人是“罕见的”。

Footage of the exchange captured by White House press was shared across social media, revealing Mr Trump's side of the conversation.

白宫出版社拍摄的这次交流的录像在社交媒体上被广泛分享，揭示了特朗普先生这一方的情景。

"Are you still a believer in Santa?" the president asked.

“你还相信圣诞老人的存在吗？”总统问道。

After a brief pause, Mr Trump continued: "Because at seven it's marginal, right?"

短暂停顿后，特朗普先生继续说道：“因为七岁还相信是很罕见的，对吧？”

The Republican leader then laughs at the child's response, before signing off the conversation.

在电话结束之前，这位共和党领导人在孩子回答之后笑了。

"You just enjoy yourself," he said.

“你好好享受吧，”他说。

Mr Trump was joined by his wife Melania in the State Dining Room of the White House, with the First Lady also taking calls from children.

特朗普在白宫国家餐厅与他的妻子梅拉尼亚一同出席，第一夫人也接听了儿童的电话。

Norad set up the Santa-tracking program in 1955 and it has become a tradition for the president and first lady to take phone calls from children on 24 December.

Norad于1955年建立了圣诞老人追踪计划，12月24日，总统和第一夫人接听儿童电话已成为传统。

The caller was initially⁴ identified as a boy.

打电话的孩子一开始被误认为是男孩子。