Kicking off the first White House Easter Egg Roll of his second term, President Donald Trump on Monday said, "We're bringing religion back in America. We're bringing a lot of things back, but religion is coming back to America. That's why you see the kind of numbers that you see, the spirit and the kind of numbers that you see."
Guests gathered on the South Lawn for the annual event as Trump spoke from the Blue Room balcony, flanked by first lady Melania Trump and the Easter Bunny.
By the president's estimate, 40,000 people were expected to take part in the White House Easter festivities over the course of the day.
The corporate-sponsored egg roll took place hours after the Vatican announced that Pope Francis died at 88 years old.
Trump announced that he was ordering flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the pontiff, who died on Easter Monday after battling double pneumonia last month at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.
"I just signed an executive order putting the flags of our country, all of them, all federal flags and state flags, at half-mast in honor of Pope Francis," Trump said. "So, he was a good man. Worked hard. He loved the world, and it's an honor to do that."
He told reporters later that he's unsure if he will attend Francis' funeral.
According to The Hill, children used wooden spoons to race brightly dyed eggs across the lawn after Trump blew the starting whistle, and Melania Trump played hopscotch and read the book "Bunny With a Big Heart" to attendees later in the day.
The White House reportedly sought sponsorships ranging from $75,000 to $200,000 for components of the event, and Amazon ultimately sponsored a Reading Nook, while Meta sponsored an "AI-powered" photo-op and YouTube sponsored the "Bunny Hop Stage," the first lady's office said.
Several Trump officials, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, senior White House aide Stephen Miller and FBI Director Kash Patel, were among those present.
The traditional event reportedly used more than 30,000 eggs, even as the Agriculture Department reported an increase of a few cents in the nationwide average price of wholesale eggs in the week preceding Easter. The current nationwide average per wholesale dozen is $3.13.
The White House Easter Egg Roll has been held annually since the Rutherford B. Hayes administration in 1878. This year, the American Egg Board – which has participated in the event for nearly 50 years and has been a lead sponsor the past decade – reportedly donated 30,000 hand-dyed eggs that were delivered to the White House on Friday.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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