Biden marks annual White House Easter Egg Roll: ‘Time for forgiveness’

President Biden hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday, calling Easter a time for forgiveness as he welcomed thousands of people to the White House lawn.

After the start of the roll was delayed because of thunder and lightning, Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and the Easter Bunny came outside on the White House balcony to greet people at the event. 

“Time for forgiveness and people getting together. And a little bit of love and no phoniness. Be straight with people,” Biden told reporters when asked what Easter meant to him.

The Easter Egg Roll, which has been a White House tradition since 1878, had the theme “EGGucation” and featured educational activities on the South Lawn, like a reading nook, a physical “EGGucation” zone and a “field trip to the farm” area.

“Easter reminds us of the power of hope and renewal, sacrifice and resurrection, but mainly, love and grace toward one another,” Biden said to the crowd from the White House balcony. “It’s time to pray for one another, to cherish the blessings and the possibilities that we have as Americans.”

“We’re a great nation because we’re good people. Our values are solid and the rest of the world looks to us, and we’re determined to keep up that banner,” he added.

Biden then exited the White House to greet some attendees and to blow the whistle for a group of young children rolling eggs across the White House lawn with wooden spoons.

While playing with the children, Biden bent down to speak to a child who was crying. Once she stopped crying, he walked along with her as she rolled an egg down the lawn.

The theme “EGGucation” has been used by the first lady the past two years. She read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” to a group of children and told them after the reading to check out the dinosaurs on the lawn.

Six hot air balloon replicas floated near the White House with signs: science, engineering, technology, art, and math. A band played outside the White House as kids participated in the activities despite the on-again, off-again rain throughout the morning.

Some lawmakers were spotted in the crowd of attendees, including Reps. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).