Commemorative White House Easter Egg hatches bipartisan goodwill

It’s eggciting! There are few things in today’s political atmosphere that garner bipartisan goodwill but it looks like Monday’s annual White House Easter Egg Roll may be one of them. As I read up about this year’s eggstravanza I am struck by the lack of critical narratives. What a welcome relief.

I learned that each year the First Lady is presented with a commemorative egg from the American Egg Board, a tradition that began in 1977 when First Daughter Amy Carter was given one. Apparently, Rosalyn Carter wanted in on the action. Each year since then the First Lady has received one.

This year First Lady Melania Trump’s egg is decorated to honor her Be Best initiative. I thought surely that would bring the hate from the left but I’m happy to say I have not seen it. At least not yet, anyway. Even leftie sites are complimentary of the design, the craftsmanship, and the gesture. This year’s egg was decorated by the Executive Director of the Virginia Egg Council, Cecilia Glembocki. Children of American farmers submitted designs. She worked in a Be Best inscription at the top of the egg. That’s a nice touch because the Be Best initiative targets children and making their lives better.

This egg will be especially meaningful for Melania Trump as she receives so little attention for her work on the Be Best initiative. I’m reading Team of Vipers, a book written by former Special Assistant to the President Cliff Sims. He relays his recollection of the first Trump administration White House Easter Egg Roll. Melania is described as a woman obsessed with every detail for all the social events, including this one. She makes sure that everything is in place even down to last minute changes to the Easter Bunny costume. He said she pulls it off and it looks effortless to those in attendance.

This year’s egg is the 42nd commemorative egg. It is the 141st White House Easter Egg Roll. The White House released the details of activities and performances for the day on Friday. There is something available for all ages to enjoy, with a couple of new additions.

First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald J. Trump invite this year’s Easter Egg Roll attendees to enjoy a variety of activities, including the time-honored Egg Roll and the Trump Administration’s Cards for Troops station. New to the Egg Roll this year: musical eggs and Be Best hopscotch. In recognition of the First Lady’s Be Best campaign, children will also have the opportunity to spread kindness by mailing postcards to anyone they choose – friends, family, members of the military – directly through a United States Postal Service mailbox that will be on the South grounds

30,000 attendees are expected and a record-breaking 74,000 eggs have been donated by the American Egg Board.

As I noted above, the articles written about this year’s Egg Roll have been easy to read, even on liberal websites. Jezebel did an amusing tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to another contributor’s positive review of this year’s commemorative egg’s design. “Big Egg” is targeted.

Aside from being a clear marketing ploy by Big Egg (the annual commemorative egg is “a gift from the American Egg Board on behalf of America’s egg farmers”), the egg is clearly bad, and looks like the unholy spawn of one of those soaps shaped like cupcakes and an unfortunate hen. “A child will try to eat the egg and get a mouthful of glass or whatever,” said Jezebel senior editor Katie McDonough. I agree. It is the Tide Pod of commemorative eggs, a danger to children everywhere—ironic, given that it’s meant to celebrate the First Lady’s ill-fated “Be Best” initiative.

Eggs are generally good (Big Egg has gotten to me, true), but this egg is bad.

Clever. No doubt some contributors would have liked nothing better than slam the First Lady by way of criticizing a decorated egg but turning it into a light-hearted exercise was the way to go.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.