President Joe Biden said Monday that he had not named Easter Sunday Transgender Day of Visibility and called Chairman Michael Johnson “fully uniformed” for making that claim.
Biden outraged conservatives this weekend with his proclamation recognizing the day to celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people.
Johnson, former President Donald Trump and many other conservatives have criticized Biden, with the speaker calling the president’s move “outrageous and abhorrent.”
“I didn’t do that,” Biden said when asked about calling Easter Transgender Day of Visibility.
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and the Easter Bunnies at the White House
Since 2009, March 31 has been declared a day to honor the transgender movement internationally. This year, March 31 was also Easter Sunday.
The president, asked to respond to Johnson’s criticism, said: “He is completely uninformed.”
The president and first lady Jill Biden kicked off a rainy Easter egg roll on Monday after the weekend’s storm of controversy.
Hunter Biden joined his parents on the South Lawn, shaking hands and talking to people in the drizzle.
The Bidens focused on the traditional egg breed activities. Both the president and first lady took turns blowing the starting whistle and President Biden helped a little girl roll her egg.
The first lady read Brown Bear Brown Bear What a group of children you see as the rain continued to fall, steadily pouring down on parents, presidents and officials.
However, the first family did not allow the political storms and humid weather to spoil the Easter egg roll, an annual tradition that began in 1878.
President Joe Biden blows the starting whistle as Jill Biden cheers on the children during the Egg Race
Hunter Biden talks to the crowd on the South Lawn
President Joe Biden holds a young person and rolls an egg
Jill Biden reads Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see?
About 40,000 people are expected to participate in the ‘EGG-ucation’ themed event, about 10,000 more than last year.
Miniature hot air balloons labeled Engineering, Science, Technology and Art decorated the South Portico area.
Longtime teacher Jill Biden added educational components to the celebration, including stations where children could learn about agriculture, healthier eating, exercise and more.
Kids can also write notes for U.S. troops and first responders from Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization.
The Easter holiday got off to a rocky start for the government as conservatives opened fire on the president for honoring Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday.
It was created by Rachel Crandall-Crocker, the executive director of the advocacy group Transgender Michigan.
The holiday is “a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people, while also highlighting the poverty, discrimination and violence the community faces,” according to nonprofit organization GLAAD.
Biden released a statement Saturday to mark the occasion: “On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our nation’s commitment to building a more perfect Union – where all people are equal are created and treated equally everywhere. their lives,” it said.
“Today we send a message to all transgender Americans: you are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire government and I stand with you.”
Biden was the first US president in 2021 to issue a formal proclamation recognizing the event.
President Joe Biden talks to a guest at the Easter Egg Roll
President Joe Biden, center left, and Vice President Kamala Harris, center right, joined by first lady Jill Biden, left, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, right, wave at the White House Easter egg roll on the South Lawn
The theme of this year’s Easter egg roll was ‘Egg-ucation’
Conservatives were outraged, led by Trump, Biden’s rival in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, labeled the proclamation “appalling and insulting.”
She claimed the announcement was evidence of the Biden administration’s “years-long assault on the Christian faith.”
And House Speaker Mike Johnson called the proclamation “abhorrent.”
“The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Banning sacred truth and tradition – while at the same time declaring Easter Sunday ‘Transgender Day’ – is outrageous and abhorrent,” he said.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates hit back, saying, “As a As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American.”
“Unfortunately, it is not surprising that politicians seek to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or profiteering.”
And the eggs for Monday’s event caused their own controversy.
The first lady invited the children of military families to send decorated eggs to the White House so they could be displayed during the Egg Roll.
The invitation called for children from National Guard families to submit artwork to be painted on eggs, but prohibited “any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said it was ‘outrageous and disgusting’ to call Easter Sunday ‘Transgender Day’
In response to the criticism, Jill Biden spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander noted that the language in the invitation was standard and had been used for several administrations, including Trump.
‘*Fyi on all the misleading swirls about the White House and Easter: The standard non-discrimination language of the American Egg Board flyer asking for illustrations has been used by all Democrats and Republican administrators for the past 45 years – for all WH Easter Egg Rolls – including previous administration,” she wrote on X.