US President Donald Trump, joined by the Easter Bunny and first lady Melania Trump speaks from the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 22, 2019, during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. (Photo: AP)
US President Donald Trump kicked off the annual Easter Egg Roll Monday — the White House’s biggest social event of the year.
“I want to wish everybody a very happy Easter,” Trump said, addressing the crowd from the Truman Balcony, where he was joined by first lady Melania Trump and a bespectacled bunny character.
He also talked about his administration’s investments in the military, saying, “it is being rebuilt to a level we have never seen before.”
Trump later blew a whistle that began an egg roll on the South Lawn — one of many activities organized for the 30,000 adults and children who will stream through the gates all day.
The main event is the traditional rolling of hard-boiled eggs across the lawn, but the first lady has announced two new additions to the lineup of festivities: musical eggs and a game of hopscotch named for her “Be Best” children’s initiative.
There’s also a nook where Mrs. Trump and other officials read storybooks and a station for kids to make greeting cards to send to US troops.
The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878.
