President Trump and first lady Melania Trump celebrated Christmas Eve in Florida at their estate in Mar-a-Lago and the commander-in-chief took a little break from running the country for an evening church service.
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The churchgoers were definitely excited to see the president and greeted him with a standing ovation. Some of them paused in the aisle to wish the first family a Merry Christmas. The White House’s director of social media, Dan Scavino Jr., managed to capture a photo of the first family’s visit and shared it on Twitter.
President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump are greeted by stand ovation and cheers upon their arrival to attend Christmas Eve church services, tonight, at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. #ChristmasEve2017 pic.twitter.com/DwKVMZtnvn
— Dan Scavino Jr. Archived (@Scavino45) December 25, 2017
President Trump had a busy day on Christmas Eve, he released his first Christmas Eve greeting and even spoke to troops overseas, telling them “you’re very, very special people.”
President Trump and Melania have arrived at the church and were greeted by Rev. James Harlan #TrumpInPalmBeach pic.twitter.com/QFyFKkrka5
— Matt Morgan (@MetroMattMorgan) December 25, 2017
Trump’s Christmas Eve visit took place at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida — only a few miles from Mar-a-Lago. The Palm Beach Post reports that they arrived just before the 10:30 p.m. service and sat in the third row from the front. Secret Service stood throughout the church and kept churchgoers from snapping photos of the pair.
.@POTUS @FLOTUS being led into worship at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, where they were married in 2005. pic.twitter.com/BmXxQHDy09
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) December 25, 2017
Reverend James Harlan delivered a homily focusing on the power of words, saying “the word of God is more powerful and more transforming than any word you or I could utter,” and adding “God’s word is pure light.”
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The Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea is an important part of the first family’s history. Trump and Melania were married at the church in 2005 and one year later, Barron Trump was christened there. They’ve been spotted at several Christmas Eve and Easter services at the church over the past few years. In fact, the church has a history of attracting A-list worshipers; President Gerald Ford and Michael Jordan have both been in the pews.