President Trump celebrated Easter Monday at the White House by praising the U.S. military and the daring operation that rescued a downed American aviator in Iran over the weekend.
Mr. Trump, standing next to a costumed Easter bunny and first lady Melania Trump, said “our warriors are the greatest fighters on Earth” as the war with Iran enters its sixth week.
“What about the rescue that took place yesterday?” Mr. Trump said to cheers from the South Lawn. “It’s something that you rarely see.”
Over the weekend, the U.S. retrieved an American aviator behind enemy lines in Iran, capping a tense two-day period after the airman’s F-15 fighter jet was downed late last week.
The rescue meant that both crew members of the F-15 Strike Eagle, believed to have been brought down by Iranian air defenses, were found.
Mr. Trump also boasted Monday about the state of the country and the declining price of eggs at the Easter Egg Roll, a tradition in which children and families roll Easter eggs through the White House grass with long spoons.
“Happy Easter Monday, I hope you enjoy this beautiful day,” Mrs. Trump said, noting that this year marks the nation’s 250th birthday. “Enjoy it, and I hope you have a wonderful day.”
The Easter Egg Roll is held on Easter Monday and hosted by the president and first lady. It dates to the 1870s, when President Rutherford B. Hayes invited families to the White House because Congress prohibited the practice on Capitol Hill.
“It’s a day where we celebrate Jesus,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s a day where we celebrate religion.”
The president said the decor looked especially pleasing this year.
“It gets better every time,” Mr. Trump said.
Later, the president blew a whistle to start the egg-rolling on the lawn and criticized his predecessor, President Joseph R. Biden, while drawing with some children and signing their papers.
“He was incapable of signing his name, so they followed him around with a big machine. You know what it was called? An autopen,” Mr. Trump told the children.
He also slammed the mainstream media.
“Who likes the fake news?” he asked the children. “Does anybody like the fake news?”
