Trump says gray skies for the White House Easter egg roll mean no worries about sunburn

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed tens of thousands of people Monday to the White House Easter egg roll, saying the overcast weather meant no one would have to worry about getting sunburned. He thanked the National Park Service for how “spiffy” everything looked.

More than 40,000 people were expected to participate, he said.

“Happy Easter to everyone,” the president said, flanked on the White House balcony by his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and an Easter bunny mascot. “It was a beautiful day yesterday, and it’s a beautiful day today. We don't have to worry about sunburn but ... it looks like it's not going to be raining.”

The president and first lady visited the egg roll area, where he blew a gold-toned whistle stamped with the presidential seal to start a few races. They also spent time at a station where kids wrote cards to service members. Melania Trump later read “Bunny with a Big Heart” at a reading area. It's a story about a forgetful rabbit who gets injured, must stay in bed and learns to be kinder to his family.

Wooden spoon-wielding children competed against each other to guide hard-boiled eggs dyed pink, blue, yellow or green across a patch of the lawn to a finish line. In some cases, eggs were lobbed into the air instead of rolled across the grass, and at least one wooden spoon went flying through the air.

The participants included some of Trump's grandchildren — son Don Jr.'s children.

A special station promoting next year’s 250th anniversary of America’s founding provided opportunities to sign a mini-Declaration of Independence or dress up as Founding Fathers. The daylong event featured multiple activity stations, live performances and story times.

Trump gave a “special thank you” to his wife for her work organizing the annual event.

“I also want to thank the National Park Service," he said. "The job they do in making everything so beautiful and spiffy, and I’m very difficult when it comes to that. I will tell you, very very difficult. ... They have done an incredible job. You just have to look around and see”

The American Egg Board, which has participated in the Easter egg roll for nearly 50 years and has been a lead sponsor for the past decade, donated 30,000 eggs that were hand-dyed by board staff and volunteers, said Emily Metz, board president and CEO.

She said the board understands the frustration felt by egg farmers and consumers over the egg shortage caused by the spread of avian flu and how expensive it's become to buy a dozen.

Metz said the 2,500 dozen eggs given to the White House were small and medium, sizes not typically sold by retailers, so they will not further strain the supply or contribute to even higher prices. Nearly 9 million dozen eggs are sold daily in the United States, she said.

“We feel like we need to take a moment to celebrate where we can, and you cannot have Easter without eggs. And you cannot have the White House Easter egg roll without real eggs,” Metz said in an interview.

Trump also included topics unrelated to Easter in his brief remarks, like recruitment gains for the military and police and fire departments. He said religion "is coming back to America.”

The egg roll is one of the oldest White House traditions, dating to to 1878 and the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. He opened the lawn to children after Congress banned them from rolling eggs on the grounds of the Capitol.

Tickets for Monday's event were distributed through a lottery.