'Anything's Possible,' Biden Says at Easter Egg Roll

Not even the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is safe from presidential politics. President 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, he gave no ground. The president 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 7am, Biden and first lady Jill Biden addressed 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 7pm.

"Anything’s possible in America," Biden said in brief remarks welcoming guests, "if we remember who we are and we do it together." The Bidens then went to the lawn, each blowing a whistle to kick off egg-rolling competitions, the AP reports. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug, applauded as another group of children coaxed dyed, hard-boiled eggs to the finish line in a separate area. Jill Biden later visited the "reading nook," where she read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the parents and children gathered there, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations. The first lady's grandson Beau Biden held the book while she turned the pages.

Her final stop was the talent stage and a performance by the cast of the Broadway musical The Lion King. The first lady's theme was "EGGucation." Jill Biden is a teacher, and she 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 in her remarks on the balcony, explaining that's why they turned the South Lawn into a “school community." The White House Easter Egg Roll returned last year after two years off during the pandemic. (More White House Easter Egg Roll stories.)