By DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)
The Easter egg roll at the White House was postponed for 90 minutes due to thunder and lightning on Monday. However, it eventually began with a big crowd, including many kids wearing ponchos or colorful jackets to protect against light rain.
More than 40,000 people, 10,000 more than last year, were expected to attend. They were trying to guide hard-boiled eggs across the lawn to a finish line. This year’s theme was “EGG-ucation,” and led by Jill Biden, a teacher for over 30 years.
“Easter reminds us of the power of hope and renewal, and sacrifice and resurrection,” President Joe Biden told attendees. He spoke from the White House balcony, accompanied by two large Easter bunnies, one of which wore sunglasses like him. “But mainly love and grace towards one another.”
Biden said this year’s egg roll was a time to “cherish the blessings, the possibilities that we have as Americans.”
“That’s what I see in our country. We’re a great nation because we’re a good people,” he said. “Our values are solid.”
The president then went out on the lawn, crouching down to help some kids with their eggs. He blew a whistle to officially begin the roll — an annual tradition first held in 1878.
Egg roll guests included thousands of military and veteran families, their caregivers and survivors. Members of the general public claimed tickets through an online lottery and were being admitted in nine waves until the evening.
Among those joining 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 a Senate candidate, high fived kids after their rolls.
A large schoolhouse set up on the South Lawn offered kids activities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM — including making circuit-breakers or simulating a fossil dig. Youngsters also wrote notes to U.S. troops and first responders with Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization.
“I’m a teacher so I love any time when we can turn the White House into a classroom,” the first lady said, noting that “the South Lawn is transforming into our learning playground and school community.”
She noted that this year’s setup included a reading nook and exhibits on space travel and dinosaur fossils.
The first couple also sat Monday for an interview with NBC’s “Today” and said that Easter for them on Sunday featuring putting some dollar bills in some plastic Easter eggs and holding a hunt with their grandchildren. “We’re still missing one,” joked the first lady.
The president drew criticism from top conservatives, and the campaign of former President Donald Trump, who is now running to reclaim the White House, by proclaiming March 31 as “Transgender Day of Visibility ″ on a year when Easter also fell on the day.
But Biden offered a message of unity on Monday, saying the egg roll was taking place at “the people’s house.”
“We just like to open it up,” he said to NBC about the White House. “It always makes me feel good to look out there and see, just average Americans, walking around and looking at what’s going around ’cause they own it.”
Biden was asked about his final campaign as he seeks his second term and said, “I just think people are so tired of the negativity that is propagated that they just want to get engaged.”
“They want to change things,” he said.
The first lady added that she’d been traveling the country campaigning and that “people are ready to go, and we’re going to win this.”
The first lady still teaches English and writing at a northern Virginia community college. She and President Biden did not host the egg roll during the first year of his administration in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it resumed the last two years.
The event dates 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.
