Trump Honcho Coaches Crowd To Cheer Loudly When Christmas Tree Ceremony ‘National Telecast’ Starts
Trump Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum warmed up the crowd an hour before President Donald Trump took the stage by coaching them to cheer loudly once the “national telecast” for the Christmas tree lighting began.
The 103rd National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony was held on the Ellipse at The White House and President’s Park on December 4, 2025 and covered by pool cameras, but the event was scheduled to be telecast on Great American Family as a special on Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
The president and First Lady Melania Trump made their way to the Ellipse for the ceremony on Thursday night in what appears to be Trump’s first visit to the site since the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that preceded the Capitol riot.
But about an hour before Trump kicked off the event with a speech, Burgum came out to tell the audience they had an “important job” — to make sure they cheered loudly when the national cameras started rolling:
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR DOUG BURGUM: On behalf of President Trump and First Lady Melania, I want to share gratitude for you. You that are here tonight in this live audience for joining us, for being here live and in person. And you’ve bundled up, you’ve come out, you’re helping to officially kick off the Christmas season. Give yourselves a round of applause. Thank you for being here tonight.
You got an important job to do. It’s such an honor to stand here with each of you in the heart of our capital as we approach what? We’re approaching our 250th anniversary of the United States of America, the greatest nation on earth!
…
…The president and the first lady are arriving soon. Backstage, we got a tent filled with a group of national recording stars. The national television broadcast begins in just a few minutes, and now this is where all of you come in.
You’re here tonight. This incredible array of recording stars, they’re waiting for form. They can’t wait to get here. You know else is back there, Santa Claus is back there. And all of these folks back there, they want to hear from you. They want to know you’re ready to go. They want to know that you’re ready to be the live audience for a national television broadcast that everyone’s gonna see.
And as a native North Dakotan, I know one thing one of the best ways to stay warm at an outdoor celebration in December is lots of cheering and lots of clapping!
So let’s hear your best right now. Let’s give it. What do you got? Are you guys ready for a show tonight?
(CHEERS).
Oh, yeah. Okay, one more time. Even warm yourself up even more. Let’s go. Are you ready for a great show?
(CHEERS).
Well done, well done. You’re ready, they’re ready. Merry Christmas to all of you, and may the spirit of this season of gratitude lift and guide us all. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Have a fabulous evening. Merry Christmas, everybody.
Watch above via ABC News WJLA.
