Biden kicks off Easter egg roll with talk of reelection bid

WASHINGTON — Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics.

President Joe Biden, the host of Monday’s festivities on the South Lawn, said he plans to participate in “at least three or four more Easter egg rolls, maybe five.”

Biden was alluding to his expected reelection bid but when pressed for news by Al Roker of NBC’s “Today” show, the president gave no ground. He repeated what he’s been saying for months.

“I’m planning on running, Al, but we’re not prepared to announce it yet,” Biden told Roker.

After making an early appearance on the lawn to speak with Roker after the gates opened at 7 a.m., Biden and first lady Jill Biden will also address the crowd from the White House balcony before joining the “egg-citement.” Some 30,000 people, mostly children, were expected, in nine waves of participants, ending at 7 p.m.

“Anything’s possible in America,” Biden said in brief remarks welcoming guests to the South Lawn, “if we remember who we are and we do it together.”

The first lady’s theme is “EGGucation.” Jill Biden is a teacher and she has incorporated numerous learning opportunities into the event. “Learning doesn’t only happen in a classroom, there are so many fun opportunities to learn around us every day,” she said, explaining that’s why they turned the South Lawn into a “school community.”

The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the White House lawn to children after they were kicked off the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.