WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump sparked a storm on social networking on Christmas Day after asking a seven-year-old boy if he still believed Santa Claus was at that age.
The social networking site "Twitter" was sparked by Trump during an event in which he and his wife, Melania, received phone calls from children calling the North American Air Defense Command to track Santa Claus's move in a tradition of Christmas celebrations to bring joy to children.
In one conversation Trump chatted with a seven-year-old boy.
Trump asked him, "Do you still believe in Santa Claus? ... because at the age of seven this is marginal.
Twitter was infuriated by what some saw as a skepticism about the president's vision of the children.
"It's very strange that Trump should spend Christmas night talking to children at 7 and telling them that the belief that Santa Claus is at their age is a marginal issue," Sen. Chris Murphy wrote on his Twitter account.
While others defended Trump. "Trump is doing a lot of wrong things, but one of the seven-year-olds hinting that Santa Claus is a non-existent character may have been the only right thing he has done since he took office," said one.
The White House had no comment on the reactions to social media.