White House Easter egg roll drawing a huge crowd after storm-delayed start
WASHINGTON — Thunder and lightning delayed the start of the Easter egg rolls at the White House by 90 minutes on Monday, but the event eventually got underway under gray skies, with many young people wearing ponchos or colorful coats against light rain.
More than 40,000 people – 10,000 more than last year – were expected to take part in the event, in an attempt to coax hard-boiled eggs across the lawn to the finish line. This year’s theme is “EGG-ucation” and is led by Jill Biden, an educator for more than 30 years.
The egg roll is an annual tradition first held in 1878, and several stations on the South Lawn and Ellipse were designed to help children learn about farming, healthier eating, exercise and more.
Among those with the children was Harry Dunn, a former police officer who defended the U.S. Capitol against rioters on Jan. 6 and is now running for Congress in Maryland. Texas Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, now running for Senate, high-fives children after their role.
A large schoolhouse on the South Lawn offered activities for children in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM – including making circuit breakers or simulating a fossil dig. The children will also have the opportunity to write notes for U.S. troops and first responders from Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization.
“As you can see, there’s something for everyone here,” Jill Biden said during an interview with NBC’s “Today” to discuss the event. “We have science projects, science lessons – you can learn about the upcoming solar eclipse. We have a reading nook, we have dinosaurs.”
The president said in the same interview that this year’s edition might be the White House’s biggest egg roll yet. He said the family stuffed dollar bills into some plastic Easter eggs and held a private hunt to mark Easter Sunday. “We’re still missing one,” the first lady joked.
President Joe Biden drew criticism from top conservatives and former President Donald Trump’s campaign, which is now pushing to win back the White House, by declaring March 31 “Transgender Day of Visibility,” in a year that also includes Easter on that day. day fell.
Biden made no mention of that criticism, but said of Monday’s event: “This is the people’s house.”
“We just want to open it up,” he said of the White House “and show people that this is their place.” And it always makes me feel good to look out there and see regular Americans walking around and watching what’s going on because they own it.”
Asked about his latest campaign as he seeks his second term, Biden said, “I just think people are so tired of the negativity that’s being promoted that they just want to get engaged.”
“They want to change things,” he said.
The first lady added that she had been traveling around the country campaigning and that “people are ready to go, and we are going to win this.”
The egg roll guests included thousands of military and veteran families, their caregivers and survivors. The general public claimed tickets through an online lottery and were admitted in nine waves until the evening.
The first lady still teaches English and writing classes at a community college in northern Virginia. She and President Biden did not host the egg roll during the first year of his administration in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it did resume in the past two years.
The event dates back to the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, who opened the White House lawn to children after they were kicked off the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.