President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump opened the White House South Lawn April 6 to thousands of children and families for the 2026 Easter Egg Roll, tying the century-old tradition to a patriotic theme marking America’s 250th anniversary.
“Today is a very special day,” Trump said during the event. “It’s a day where we celebrate Jesus. It's a day where we celebrate religion. And it’s an honor to be the President of the United States. Our country is doing so well, like it has never done before. You’ll see that very shortly.”
"Today is a very special day. It's a day where we celebrate Jesus. It's a day where we celebrate religion. And it's an honor to be the President of the United States."
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 6, 2026
President Trump and the First Lady participate in the Easter Egg Roll, a longstanding tradition at the White… pic.twitter.com/zhlWq8ns9b
Melania Trump, who helped organize much of the event, said this year’s Easter egg roll is “very special” because “it is the 250th birthday of this beautiful nation.”
This year’s event featured the traditional egg-rolling races along with games, live entertainment, storytelling, arts and crafts, and costumed characters. Additional activities included a NASA-led lunar exploration activity, an artificial intelligence creation station, and stations where children could write messages to American troops. Organizers also offered a sensory-friendly egg hunt for children with special needs.
Each participant received a commemorative wooden egg bearing the signatures of the President and the First Lady, and tickets were distributed through a public lottery that drew tens of thousands of entries.
A timeless tradition 🌷🥚🐰 @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP @POTUS @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/TroW0PrlBe
— Office of the First Lady (@FirstLadyOffice) April 6, 2026
The White House used 30,000 eggs supplied by Braswell Family Farms in North Carolina. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the donated eggs represent the roughly 240,000 egg farmers nationwide. In an X post days ahead of the event, Rollins called the egg roll a “beloved American tradition that honors real food, real farmers, and real families.”
The White House Easter Egg Roll is held annually on Easter Monday. The tradition dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes first invited children to roll eggs on the South Lawn after President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill banning the activity on Capitol grounds due to landscaping concerns.