On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed families to the White House's annual Halloween celebration. In a moment reminiscent of a viral event from 2019, the President playfully placed a candy bar on the head of a child dressed as the DJ Marshmello, mirroring his past interaction with a child in a minion costume.
The 2019 incident, where President Trump set a chocolate bar on top of a boy's head instead of in his treat bag, became an online sensation for its humorous and unscripted nature. Six years later, the President recreated this scene almost identically. The child, whose identity remains undisclosed, seemed briefly confused before walking away with the candy bar still resting on his helmet. Unlike 2019, the First Lady handed out candy conventionally this time.
The Halloween event, a tradition dating back to the Eisenhower administration, took place on the South Lawn of the White House and featured thematic decorations, lighting, and tables of candy. Attendees included military families, law enforcement officers, foster and adoptive parents, as well as families of current and former White House staff.
The reenactment of the 2019 candy moment drew immediate attention on social media. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson and producer Danny De Urbina shared posts highlighting the President's nod to the earlier meme, with De Urbina's tweet reading, "NO WAY! President Trump just put a candy bar on some kid's head dressed as a marshmallow at the White House Halloween Party and made him balance it while waddling off. He knows the meme. Gangster."
Social media platforms were abuzz as users shared clips from both the 2019 and 2025 Halloween events, often with a sense of amusement at the President's consistency in creating memorable moments.
In addition to the lighthearted festivities, on the same evening, President Trump made a significant political move. He called on Congressional Republicans to end the Senate filibuster, commonly known as the "nuclear option," to resolve the ongoing government shutdown. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump expressed his reflections on the shutdown, prompted by questions from world leaders during his trip to Asia. He criticized Democrats, accusing them of desiring to divert trillions of dollars from the U.S. healthcare system to undocumented immigrants, and suggested that their actions were driven by what he termed a "sick form" of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
This call for the nuclear option indicates President Trump's desire to see swift action from Republicans to counter what he perceives as obstruction by Democrats, demonstrating the intertwining of presidential activities ranging from light-hearted traditions to pressing national issues.
