Wearing a red cap and slinging a bag of toys over his shoulder, former President Barack Obama jauntily played Santa Claus for patients at a Washington, D.C., hospital, The Washington Post reported.
“Obama Claus” visited the Children’s National hospital and handed out jigsaw puzzles, toy cars and nail polish during Wednesday’s visit, the newspaper reported.
"We had a chance to talk to some of the wonderful kids and their families," Obama told a crowd at the hospital, according to The Hill. "At a time that is obviously tough for folks, and the dad of two girls, I can only imagine in that situation you know to have nurses, staff and doctors and people who are caring for them, and looking after them, and listening to them and just there for them and holding their hands.
“That’s the most important thing there is.”
"I know they will be talking about it for years to come," Kurt Newman, chief executive and president of Children's National Health System, told the Post. "At such a busy time of year, when no one wants to be in the hospital, his natural warmth lifted the spirits of those kids, their parents and of each staff member he met along the way."
As Obama prepared to leave, the hospital staff broke into an impromptu version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” the newspaper reported.
First lady Melania Trump visited the same hospital last week to read a Christmas book to children and promote her anti-bullying campaign, Huffington Post reported.
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