Melania Trump opens application for performers looking to share their talents at the White House during Christmas
The White House announced in a press release Monday that the First Lady and President Donald Trump have begun planning for their Christmas traditions. This includes inviting volunteers and performers to celebrate the holiday at the White House in Washington, DC.
Melania is looking for talented musical groups — from school bands, choirs, and holiday-themed entertainers — to volunteer to perform in DC, according to the release. Performances will take place on eight specific dates in December during the holiday open houses at the White House.
Applications to be a volunteer performer are open now until September 5 at 5 p.m. ET. Those interested must submit an audition tape either a capella or with an acoustic accompaniment. Amplification is not permitted.
Anyone accepted to be a performer will be notified by October 13.
In addition, Melania is looking for volunteers to help decorate the White House for the Christmas season. Any individual applying for this opportunity must be 18 or older, with decorating taking place from November 24 through November 30.
However, both performers and decorating volunteers are responsible for their travel accommodations and personal expenses in DC.
Along with open houses, the White House hosts a National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony every year, with celebrities headlining. The 2024 event featured Adam Blackstone, Stephen Sanchez, and James Taylor, among others.
During Donald Trump's first term in office, Melania made headlines for her holiday decorations when she opted for white branches instead of traditional Christmas trees in parts of the White House in 2017. Meanwhile, in 2018, her red trees were panned for appearing to be covered in blood.
Years after Melania's Christmas decorations were mocked, Donald made it clear that he was still upset about the criticism.
'She would make the most beautiful Christmas decorations,' he said, while speaking at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, in 2021. 'And I remember she made these magnificent red trees, and the media said, 'Oh, that's terrible.' I said, 'Honey, next time, try white.''
'She made magnificent, remember, the most beautiful you've ever seen, white trees? And they said, 'Oh, that's terrible.' I said the next time, let's do it more traditional. Let's go with green,' he added. 'We went with beautiful green trees, and they said: 'Why wouldn't you make them white like they used to be?' But I'll tell you what, she's loved all over, and she's got a tremendous heart.'
Melania's Christmas spirit was also questioned in 2020 when she was heard on a leaked recording complaining about having to organize the decorations. The conversation was recorded in 2018 by a friend of Melania, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.
'I'm working ... my a** off at Christmas stuff that you know, who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decoration?' Melania can be heard saying. 'But I need to do it, right? Correct?'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Says He'd Use National Guard Or Military To Keep 2028 Olympics Safe
President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that 'we would do anything necessary to keep our Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military.' Trump made the comments after he signed an executive order establishing a task force on the 2028 games, a group that includes cabinet secretaries and administration officials, including FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. More from Deadline Robert Thompson, CEO Of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Jabs Donald Trump For Backing "Blatant Theft" By AI: "The Art Of The Deal Has Become The Art Of The Steal" FoxLA Anchor Elex Michaelson Is Leaving Station Thousands Of Writers Sign WGA Open Letter Slamming Trump's "Unprecedented, Authoritarian Assault" On Free Press Trump's comment about using the National Guard or military follows his dispatch of troops to Los Angeles in response to protests of ICE raids. His decision to federalize the guard was opposed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who said that the show of federal force inflamed the situation. At a White House event establishing the task force, the chair of the Olympic organizing committee, Casey Wasserman, had nothing but praise for the president, including his assistance during his first term in ensuring that Los Angeles was selected as host city. Wasserman compared the process of organizing events to producing 'seven Super Bowls a day for 30 days.' The city will host about 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,500 Paralympic athletes, participating in 800 competitions at 49 venues. He also said that for the first time, the Olympic torch relay will pass through all 50 states. Trump undoubtedly would like to put his stamp on the games, even though planning has been taking place for years. The task force's functions, per the executive order, are to coordinate federal planning and response related to security, transportation, and entry/exit processes; to support interagency and state and local information sharing; to identify legal, logistical, or regulatory barriers that could stymie federal support; to assist in visa processing and credentialing; and to ensure operational readiness across law enforcement, counterterrorism, transportation and emergency response. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last month, included $1 billion for Olympics security and other costs. Wasserman said that the funding 'will be used by local and state agencies and the federal government to make sure that our games are safe and secure and ultimately the best place to experience and be an Olympic fan.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Paramount's 'Regretting You' Adaptation So Far Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump takes surprise questions from the White House roof
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump surprised the White House press corps by taking question from the White House roof. data-check-event-based-preview= data-network-id= data-publish-date=2025-08-05T21:32:27.432Z data-video-section=politics data-canonical-url= data-branding-key= data-video-slug=trump-white-house-roof-questions-vrtc data-first-publish-slug=trump-white-house-roof-questions-vrtc data-video-tags= class=video-player> Trump takes surprise questions from the White House roof On Tuesday, President Donald Trump surprised the White House press corps by taking question from the White House roof. 01:13 - Source: CNN Automated CNN Shorts 11 videos On Tuesday, President Donald Trump surprised the White House press corps by taking question from the White House roof. data-check-event-based-preview= data-network-id= data-publish-date=2025-08-05T21:32:27.432Z data-video-section=politics data-canonical-url= data-branding-key= data-video-slug=trump-white-house-roof-questions-vrtc data-first-publish-slug=trump-white-house-roof-questions-vrtc data-video-tags= class=video-player> Trump takes surprise questions from the White House roof On Tuesday, President Donald Trump surprised the White House press corps by taking question from the White House roof. 01:13 - Source: CNN Matt Rife becomes legal owner of Annabelle doll Comedian Matt Rife posted to social media, sharing that he purchased Ed and Lorraine Warren's home and Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. This means Rife is now the legal guardian of the Annabelle doll, the doll that inspired multiple horror movies. 01:07 - Source: CNN A 12-year-old girl's quest to find food in Gaza CNN first met 12-year-old Jana in May months after her older brother was killed by Israeli fire, according to her family. Now, we follow her quest to find food as even the soup kitchens have become dangerous. As starvation and desperation has deepened in the enclave, the family's health has also deteriorated. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment on the death of Jana's brother. CNN's Abeer Salman reports. 01:22 - Source: CNN Inside the movement to ban phones in classrooms States across the US are turning school phone bans into law. Charlotte Alter of Time Magazine joins CNN's Audie Cornish to explain how parents and educators are driving this shift. 02:08 - Source: CNN Trump administration debating releasing transcript of Ghislaine Maxwell interview with DOJ The Justice Department has an audio recording of the interview it conducted with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell last month, and the administration is considering releasing a transcript of the interview publicly, three senior administration officials told CNN. CNN's Alayna Treene and Paula Reid report. 00:59 - Source: CNN Japanese firework festival ends with barges on fire A firework festival in Japan's Yokohama went awry on Monday when fireworks landed on the barges they were being launched from, setting two of the barges on fire. The event organizer told police a fireworks launch system went out of control, Reuters reported citing local media. 00:27 - Source: CNN How 300 resistors turned this sheet into a moving robot Scientists created a flexible robotic sheet that can fold its shape, move across surfaces and grasp objects. CNN's Josh Campbell explains how. 00:46 - Source: CNN Octopus latches onto child's arm at aquarium A mom in Texas is raising questions after an octopus at the San Antonio Aquarium latched onto her 6-year-old son's arm for 5 minutes. 02:30 - Source: CNN US Coast Guard releases new report on Titan submersible implosion The implosion of OceanGate's Titan submersible, which killed five people in 2023, was a preventable tragedy caused by OceanGate's failure to follow safety protocols and a toxic workplace culture, according to a report released by the US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation. 01:07 - Source: CNN Suspect arrested in Tennessee killings case The suspect in the killings of four relatives of a baby found abandoned last week has been arrested after a weeklong manhunt across rural Tennessee, according to police in Jackson. 00:49 - Source: CNN Texas lawmaker says he's willing to risk arrest or fines Texas state Rep. Ramón Romero said that he is willing to be arrested after he and other Democratic lawmakers left the state to block GOP redistricting efforts. The Texas House speaker said he signed civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats, and the governor ordered state officials to arrest them. But legal experts say the warrants are likely unenforceable outside state lines. 00:39 - Source: CNN
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump says FBI 'may have to' force Democratic lawmakers back to Texas
President Donald Trump said the FBI might help arrest Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled to other states to block a Republican redistricting plan. President Donald Trump said the FBI "may have to" help arrest Texas Democratic lawmakers to their home state after more than 50 fled to block a Republican redistricting plan that could flip five U.S. congressional seats. "A lot of people are demanding they come back. You can't just sit it out. You have to go back," Trump said at an Aug. 5 press event. Trump made the remarks when asked by a reporter about Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn's request earlier in the day for the FBI to "take any appropriate steps to aid in Texas state law enforcement efforts to locate or arrest" the Democratic lawmakers. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety Aug. 4 to arrest the Democratic lawmakers. His order was designed to force the absconding legislators to comply with civil arrest warrants that state Republican lawmakers voted to issue earlier in the day. However, it has not been clear how Texas law enforcement would be able to force the Democrats back to Texas when they are in states where local law enforcement might not be willing to execute the warrants. Many of them went to the Chicago area in Illinois, where Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker greeted them. Others went to Boston, Massachusetts and Albany, New York. "A lot of people are demanding they come back," Trump said Aug. 5. "You can't just sit it out. You have to go back." Contributing: Savannah Kuchar – USA TODAY
