Trump and Melania light National Christmas Tree

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have brought Christmas cheer to the White House for all to see. The couple officially kicked off the season with the 103rd National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse lawn on Thursday. After counting down from five, Melania, in a festive white coat, pressed a button to light up the behemoth tree. The dark, blustery 35-degree evening was immediately set ablaze with dazzling white light after flipping the switch to ignite the massive conifer. The tree was decorated with massive lit gingerbread and star ornaments.

'Thank you, Melania, and it's a beautiful job they did on creating that tree. It's a beauty,' Trump told the cheering crowd. A military band played and Christmas tunes and familiar hymns came over the overhead system while bundled attendees mulled about the few thousand seats just south of the executive mansion. The ceremony had a solemn moment when the president paid his respects to the two National Guard soldiers shot last week just blocks from the White House.

'I want to pay my highest respects to those two great Guardsmen,' Trump said. He also offered wishes for the soldier recovering, 'Andrew is hopefully getting better. He got hit hard defending us. And I just want to pay my respects to them, two incredible people, unbelievable people.' The president quickly dove into Biblical scripture, specifically the book of John, noting the roots of the holiday. 'Tonight, this beautiful evergreen tree glows bright on the dark and cold winter night and reminds us of the words of the gospel of John, "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." Beautiful words,' Trump said.

But all religions are to be celebrated, the Republican quickly noted. 'We love the Christians. We love all religions. And by the way, religion is coming back to the USA, you see that very strongly,' the Republican noted to applause. Trump also made a mention of his claims that the 2020 presidential election was 'rigged' against him as he discussed his successes at bringing both the Olympics and the World Cup to the US.

'Remember, we have not only the 250 years [celebration], we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics coming up in this four-year period. Can you imagine? If they didn't rig the election, I wouldn't have any of them! And I probably wouldn't have been invited, I would have been very upset.' He also praised the economy, spoke of religion being on the rise in America and also stated he 'settled another war today. You saw that with Rwanda and the Congo.'

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as chief of the National Park Service, celebrated the ceremony in remarks before the president. Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha attended, along with their two young sons and daughter, all sitting front row. Many Cabinet members also joined in on the holiday cheer. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her partner John Wakefield, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her husband Abraham Williams, and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler and her husband Jeff Sprecher were all in attendance.

The ceremony featured a line-up of mostly country and Christian musicians, including Alana Springsteen, Brett Young, Gabby Barrett, Jillian Cardarelli, Jon Pardi, Matthew West, and Warren Zeiders. The much-celebrated Beach Boys also played, 'they're great,' Trump remarked. The president also noted his recent peace settlement with Rwanda and Congo, which was signed earlier on Thursday. 'We just settled another war today. You saw that with Rwanda and the Congo. It's been going on for 34 years. Millions of people killed,' Trump reflected. 'That was a big one. We're very happy to announce it on this important day.'