Trump praised for sweet interactions with kids at Easter egg role after years of awkward Biden moments
Donald Trump was handing out high fives and celebrating the holiday with children at the annual White House Easter egg role, earning favorable comparisons to predecessor Joe Biden.
The 78-year-old president already mocked Biden earlier in the day, referencing the 2022 ceremony when the Easter Bunny 'rescued' a confused-looking Biden.
The president was nearly as popular as the bunny at this year's egg role, seen in clips high fiving and drawing with children.
Trump at one point exclaimed: 'I'm really into this!'
While some found his high five with one child awkward, most of social media felt it was a welcome reprieve from the Biden-era, who baffled onlookers by his odd, touchy and even 'sniffing' behavior around young people.
'If nothing else, we have a POTUS you can trust around kids, and that's a major improvement,' wrote one.
'He is so great with kids, but in an appropriate non-sniffing way,' added another.
One supporter said: 'The kids ran toward him like he was Santa, Superman, and recess all rolled into one. That's what leadership with presence looks like.'
Some liberals derisively replied by referring to Trump's comments over the years about his daughter Ivanka. Biden has a history of making eyebrow-raising remarks about girls and women.
During a 2020 event in Florida, Biden told a group of underage female dancers: 'I'm coming back and I want to see these beautiful young ladies, I want to see them dancing when they are four years older too!'
In 2019, he told a 10-year-old girl: 'I'll bet you're as bright as you are good-looking.'
He has also been photographed over the years kissing and touching young girls and women during public events.
The president has also had notorious moments with the Easter Bunny, including a moment in 2022 where his comments to people at the White House 's Easter egg roll were interrupted on Monday by none other than the Easter Bunny itself.
Biden was filmed speaking with reporters and guests at the cheerful holiday event when he began discussing Afghanistan, eight months after he presided over the US military's chaotic withdrawal from Kabul that ended 20 years of American boots on the ground there.
The president, 79, started to answer Afghan reporter Nazira Karimi's question and was heard saying: 'Pakistan should not and Afghanistan should be — people should be free...'
But Meghan Hays, a White House press official and director of message planning who was dressed as the Easter Bunny, then quickly interrupted him and ushered him away in a desperate bid to avoid another gaffe.
Republican operatives on Twitter mocked the silly moment.
'How bad does the White House staff have to think Biden is to calculate that sending in the EASTER BUNNY to interrupt a gaggle is better optics than whatever he was about to say on Afghanistan?' former Orrin Hatch aide Matt Whitlock said.
Trump won laughs from his wife Melania with a cheeky joke about the Easter bunny at the White House 's annual egg roll on Monday.
With crowds gathered and the Easter bunny primed, the President couldn't resist an opportunity to prod his predecessor.
'Remember when the Easter bunny took out Joe Biden?' he said, harkening back to an awkward Easter Monday in 2022, when the bunny 'rescued' a confused-looking Biden.
'He's not going to be taking Trump out!' the president mused today.
Melania, who was hovering nearby, giggled at the jab.
The First Lady dazzled fans on the White House lawn in an effortlessly chic beige trench coat.
It is her first public appearance for several weeks.
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