American Egg Board forced to respond to Republican conspiracy theory about White House Easter event

On Monday, thousands of children and their families will gather on the White House South Lawn for the annual Egg Roll, an Easter tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century.

But this year’s celebrations have been marred as Republican politicians and commentators falsely accused President Joe Biden’s administration of banning religious themes and symbols from the celebration’s art contest — failing to note that the policy has been in place during every administration for almost 50 years.

The annual White House Easter Egg Roll, pictured above in 2023, has come under fire from GOP politicians this year

Much of the backlash began after Fox News published an article with the headline, “Religious-themed designs banned from White House Easter egg art contest,” citing a poster about the event that said religious symbols and themes are banned from submissions. Mr Trump shared the article on his social media platform, Truth Social — however, he did not comment on the article in his post.

The rule, however, began in 1978 under former president Jimmy Carter — and has remained in place ever since, including during Donald Trump’s administration.

The Fox News article and subsequent reaction prompted Elizabeth Alexander, Communications Director for First Lady Jill Biden, to explain the rule had been in place for 45 years. Then, the American Egg Board — an organisation that helps facilitate the event — had to make their own statement clarifying the rule had been enforced by previous presidents.

“The American Egg Board has been a supporter of the White House Easter Egg Roll for over 45 years and the guideline language referenced in recent news reports has consistently applied to the board since its founding, across