Trump claims Santa’s vote in flurry of Christmas Truth Social posts: Live

Jolly Old Saint Nick is apparently a MAGA Republican when he’s not zipping around the world delivering toys.

At least, that’s what Donald Trump thinks.

The former president shared a photo on Truth Social of a man in a Santa outfit holding a sign that reads “SANTA VOTED TRUMP”.

The Independent has reached out to Santa for comment.

After spending an evening and morning ranting about his various legal troubles and his political opponents, Donald Trump shared a clip from the movie “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” featuring his favorite celebrity; himself.

“Home Alone 2!” Mr Trump wrote, along with the clip.

He made a brief cameo in the movie in which Macauley Culkin’s Kevin McAllister, who has been accidentally left alone in New York City by his family, asks for directions to the lobby of the Plaza Hotel.

Mr Trump, playing himself, directs him to his destination.

Donald Trump’s campaign released a new ad just in time for Christmas.

The ad will run in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The one-minute spot features former Trump White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gushing about her one-time boss.

Ms Sanders recounts Mr Trump’s apparently inspiring words during an impromptu visit to US servicemembers on Christmas, and touts his experience as US commander-in-chief.

On Monday — Christmas Day — Mr Trump expressed he was having a difficult time enjoying the holiday. The reason? Joe Biden.

“It’s hard to have a truly great Christmas when you have a Crooked and Incompetent President who wants to put his Political Opponent in jail, and who has been working hard (for a change!), illegally using all of the levers of Law Enforcement, to do so,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We are in the fight of our lives to save our Country from MADNESS & DOOM. MAGA 2024!!!”

Mr Trump’s sour sentiment was not posted in isolation. The former president spent most of Christmas Eve posting through his frustration at the various criminal cases he’s facing, the 6 January committee, and a recent Colorado decision to kick him off the state’s ballot.

Donald Trump just can’t get in the Christmas spirit, and it’s all because he can’t get Joe Biden off his mind.

Mr Trump called Mr Biden stupid and shady in a Christmas day post complaining about the various lawsuits he’s facing heading into 2024.

“It’s hard to have a truly great Christmas when you have a Crooked and Incompetent President who wants to put his Political Opponent in jail, and who has been working hard (for a change!), illegally using all of the levers of Law Enforcement, to do so. We are in the fight of our lives to save our Country from MADNESS & DOOM. MAGA 2024!!!” he wrote.

Robert Costa of CBS News claims, citing unnamed sources, that Special Counsel Jack Smith has dug “deep” into Donald Trump’s affairs to search for evidence in his upcoming criminal trials.

“Based on our reporting at CBS News, the special counsel has phone records,” he explained. “He has memos and diary entries from key witnesses, like former Vice President Mike Pence, key eyewitness testimony from people who are inside the Oval Office with Trump.”

“But they had something in the special counsel’s office the January 6th Committee never had, which is subpoena power to really go deep with witnesses and not just get public testimony and some depositions,” he said. “They’ve gone deep. And I’ve talked to people who participated in this investigation as lawyers, sometimes even as witnesses.”

He concluded with the declaration that Mr Smith had “a sprawling case” against Mr Trump.

Donald Trump started Christmas off with a video of his various presidential speeches during his presidency.

The former president used the video to cap off an evening of rants about his various legal troubles and the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

Donald Trump’s lawyers filed a request to a federal appeals court late on Saturday night, asking to throw out the 2020 election interference case against the former president – citing his presidential immunity.

The 55-page filing was submitted just two days after the Supreme Court refused to rule on Mr Trump’s presidential immunity appeal in the case.

Mr Trump’s lawyers reiterated much of their previous argument in the filing to the DC circuit for the Court of Appeals, saying that the former president’s decisions were made under his official acts, which are protected according to the Constitution.

The filing also leaned on the fact that Mr Trump was acquitted by the Senate for “the same and closely related conduct” and hinted that the indictment could have a chilling effect on future presidents.

It is the latest in a back-and-forth between Special Counsel Jack Smith and Mr Trump’s legal team in the fight to keep the indictment moving forward. Mr Smith has asked the court of appeals to expedite the process of hearing the immunity appeal.

The 2024 presidential election has begun and The Independent is here to help you unpick the twists and turns of the race as the starting gun goes off.

Despite the fact he faces four indictments and remains an incredibly polarising figure in American politics, Donald Trump remains immensely popular.

Join The Independent for a virtual roundtable event recapping the election results in Iowa and looking ahead to the rest of the year.

Deputy US editor David Taintor and senior Washington correspondent Eric Garcia will sit down with a panel of experts to analyse the results from the Iowa caucuses and look ahead to New Hampshire, using early signs to share predictions on how the upcoming race for the White House could unfold.

Our expert panel includes Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee communications director and deputy chief of staff to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. He also managed Republicans communications for the 2012 Iowa Caucus.

The event will be hosted on Zoom and will last one hour. It will take place on Thursday January 18 and will start at 4pm ET (9pm GMT).

Once signed up you will be able to ask questions to the panel.

For more information and to sign up for a free ticket click here.