Trump Declares War On Halloween With Another Weird Christmas Rant

When will Americans get to say trick or treat again?

With still two weeks left before Halloween and more than five weeks until Thanksgiving , Donald Trump abandoned both holidays and skipped ahead to Christmas . During a speech on taxes on Tuesday evening, the president took a holiday detour.

With just 68 shopping days left until the big day, Trump said, Lets give our country the best Christmas present of all: massive tax cuts.

It wasnt just a single, off-handed reference. He then launched into a Yuletide aside:

And speaking of Christmas... yes? You want to hear it? Speaking Im just talking about Christmas presents, Ill give you a bigger Christmas present, youre going to be saying Merry Christmas again, OK? Youre going to say Merry Christmas.
You know, you go to the stores, and they have the red walls and they have the snow and they even have the sleigh, and the whole thing. They dont have Merry Christmas. They dont have Merry Christmas.
I want them to say: Merry Christmas, everybody. Happy New Year, Happy holidays, but I want Merry Christmas. Were going to say it again. Its happening already.

If its happening already, it may be because Trump uses the phrase in just about every season. He mentioned saying Merry Christmas on Friday while speaking at an anti-LGBT event . He mentioned it on July 1 at an event ahead of Independence Day. Trump also made it a recurring talking point during the 2016 presidential campaign, vowing, Were going to be saying Merry Christmas again . Trump even used the phrase multiple times during a Jan. 18, 2016 speech at Liberty University (a.k.a. the Two Corinthians speech).

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

While the president has rarely mentioned Halloween, hes had no problem capitalizing on it. Trump just released an orange, Halloween-themed version of his MAGA hat , with a jack-o-lantern on the front and the slogan Make America Great Again on the back.

It's Trick-or-Treat time and this MAGA hat is definitely a treat! Order by Oct. 23rd to get it before Halloween: https://t.co/YQYZ0puyyw pic.twitter.com/644CZmtmtv

Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) October 17, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Official Team Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/TeamTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"It's Trick-or-Treat time and this MAGA hat is definitely a treat! Order by Oct. 23rd to get it before Halloween: https://t.co/YQYZ0puyyw pic.twitter.com/644CZmtmtv— Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) October 17, 2017\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1080,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DMWBA6uW4AANQA1.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1920,"title":"Official Team Trump on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/920284499015020544","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"59e6c5e4e4b00905bdad6662","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/donald-trump-war-on-halloween_n_59e6c5e4e4b00905bdad6662","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,us-news,halloween,christmas,holiday-greetings,@amazonecho,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"media,religion,tv","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/813a0e47-b51d-4f03-a087-66fa7976b223/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":14},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"59e6c5e4e4b00905bdad6662","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/us-news","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news"},"relegenceSubjectId":981465,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"Halloween ","slug":"halloween","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/halloween","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/halloween","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/halloween"},"relegenceId":2903240,"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Culture & Arts","slug":"arts"},"topic":{"title":"Halloween","slug":"halloween","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/halloween"},{"name":"Christmas","slug":"christmas","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/christmas","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/christmas","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/christmas"},"relegenceSubjectId":978615,"department":{"name":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"section":{"title":"Home & Living","slug":"huffpost-home"},"topic":{"title":"Christmas Ideas","slug":"christmas-ideas","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/life/topic/christmas-ideas"},{"name":"Holiday greetings","slug":"holiday-greetings","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/holiday-greetings","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/holiday-greetings","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/holiday-greetings"},"relegenceId":6165542,"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Culture & Arts","slug":"arts"},"topic":{"title":"Holidays","slug":"holidays","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/holidays"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

It's Trick-or-Treat time and this MAGA hat is definitely a treat! Order by Oct. 23rd to get it before Halloween: https://t.co/YQYZ0puyyw pic.twitter.com/644CZmtmtv
Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) October 17, 2017