Toddler gets a presidential assist a Easter Egg Roll
President Joe Biden swooped in to assist a toddler with her Easter egg during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
WASHINGTON ― The White House has opened up its annual Easter egg roll to paid corporate sponsorships, raising legal concerns from ethics experts about President Donald Trump allowing the 147-year-old event and the grounds at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to promote private companies.
Companies can pay $75,000, $125,000 or $200,000 to serve as sponsors for the April 21 holiday event in exchange for branding visibility, access opportunities and media exposure, according to a nine-page guide for potential sponsors, created by the production company Harbinger, reviewed by USA TODAY.
All money raised by Harbinger from the White House Easter Egg Roll sponsorships will go to the nonprofit White House Historical Association, which hired the production firm. CNN first reported the corporate sponsorships.
“Sponsors of (the White House Easter Egg Roll) provide financial support, activities, and giveaways to enhance the event while gaining valuable brand visibility and national recognition,” Harbinger’s guide reads. “Their contributions allow the event to be privately funded without taxpayer money, creating a memorable experience for children and families.”
The White House Egg Roll, held on the White House south lawn, dates back to 1878 under President Rutherford B. Hayes. The event has historically been funded privately through the nonprofit American Egg Board, which also provides eggs for the event. But the solicitation of private companies marks a departure from past administrations typically avoiding corporate branding on the White House grounds.
The move comes after Trump this month promoted Tesla vehicles on the White House South Lawn in a push to boost sales for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a White House senior advisor who heads the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. In his first term in office, Trump used the White House for his GOP nomination acceptance speech to the 2020 Republican National Committee during the COVID pandemic.
Harbinger’s solicitation memo offers companies naming rights for “key areas or elements” of the egg roll, sponsor logos on event signage, corporate-branded giveaways including custom-branded Easter baskets, and mentions on the event’s communications, social media posts and printed and digital programs.
The $200,000 “platinum sponsorship package” ‒ the highest of three sponsorship levels ‒ includes four tickets to the White House’s egg roll brunch hosted by first lady Melania Trump, 150 tickets to the event, “exclusive access opportunities” and a choice of a “Meet & Greet or White House Tour.” Images of President Trump and the first lady are featured on the platinum-level breakdown in the guide for potential sponsors, which also includes the official White House logo.
The White House referred question from USA TODAY to the White House Historical Association, which declined to comment. Harbinger did not return a message seeking comment.
Richard Painter, who was the White House ethics chief under President George W. Bush, said the corporate sponsorships at the egg role represents a use of private office for private gain in violation of the standard of conduct for federal employees. The Code of Federal Regulations says a federal employee cannot use their office “for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise.”
“That’s a pretty clear violation,” Painter said, adding that it wouldn’t have gotten approval when he worked for the Bush administration. “No way. It would not have gone through any White House until 2017. All of a sudden it’s a different attitude in 2017 with Donald Trump.”
Even though the money raised from the corporate sponsorships is going to the nonprofit White House Historical Association, Painter said there’s “no exception for nonprofits.” He said then-President Joe Biden, similar to Trump, also used his position “in an egregious breach” to raise money for the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump has blurred the lines between his four years out of public office by launching his own cryptocurrency $Trump meme coin, Painter said.
“They’ve got a makeshift Tesla car lot in the White House. They’ve got meme coins for the president,” he said. “It’s just blatant use of public office private gain.”
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.