President Donald Trump had first lady Melania Trump – and his supporters online – laughing by mocking former President Joe Biden’s interaction with the Easter Bunny.
The president recalled a viral moment from the 2022 Easter Egg Roll, in which a White House aide, dressed as the lady Easter Bunny, shooed the aging president away from reporters who were quizzing him about foreign policy.
During Monday’s Egg Roll, the president chatted up guests on the South Lawn, the first lady at his side.
‘Do you remember the bunny with Joe Biden?’ Trump asked. ‘Remember? Do you remember when the bunny took Joe Biden out? He’s not taking Trump out. That was a beautiful moment, when the bunny saved Joe Biden.’
He repeated the comment moments later.
‘You remember when the bunny saved Joe Biden?’ he asked Egg Roll attendees. ‘The bunny’s not going to save me, right? I got a better bunny.’
The White House’s social media accounts posted Trump making the joke – and the footage of Biden.
‘BREAKING: The White House is no longer a nursing home,’ the post said.
This year’s bunny was in an updated costume, compared to the more cartoonish looking bunnies that dated back to the Clinton administration.
The White House did not identify the aide playing the Easter Bunny this year.
Usually several staffers wear the bunny costumes throughout the hours-long Egg Roll.
During Trump’s 2016 campaign, future White House press secretary Sean Spicer shared a photo of himself in the bunny suit, which he sported in 2008 when he was working for President George W. Bush.
Biden press aide Meghan Hays – who often appears now on CNN – dressed as the female Easter Bunny in 2021, stopping by the press briefing room amid the COVID-19 pandemic sporting a large mask.
The Easter Egg Roll was cancelled by Trump in 2020 and nixed by Biden in 2021, due to the pandemic.
During Monday’s Egg Roll, Trump engaged with reporters as he walked around the South Lawn with the first lady, Donald Trump Jr., his girlfriend Bettina Anderson and several of his children, including golf star Kai.
The bunny didn’t keep the president away from the press.
He commented on the death of Pope Francis.
Asked if he’d like to go to the Pope’s funeral, Trump responded: ‘I don’t know, I just have to look at the timing. We just lowered the flags throughout the country.’
Later Monday, Trump announced via Truth Social that he and Melania would fly to Rome for the occasion.
A reporter pointed out to the president that Pope Francis had preached tolerance for migrants and was asked if he agreed.
‘Yeah, I do, I do,’ Trump answered.
Trump also expressed confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid another Signal scandal.
‘Here we go again. Just a waste of time. He is doing a great job,’ Trump said.
When asked why he had confidence in Hegseth, Trump answered, ‘Because he’s doing a great job.’
‘Ask the Houthis how he’s doing,’ Trump said.