President Trump and the Easter Bunny wave during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn on April 22, 2019.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Major tech companies were among the corporate sponsors solicited for the annual Easter Egg Roll event held Monday on the South Lawn. This comes as billionaire tech executives have faced growing criticism for cozying up to the Trump administration.
“In addition to the classic Egg Roll and Egg Hunt—both featuring real, small- and medium-sized eggs donated by American egg farmers—guests will enjoy a wide array of entertaining activities thanks to the White House Historical Association and its partnerships,” the White House said in a statement.
Listed among the sponsors were companies including YouTube, Amazon, and Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta.
Tech company executives, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerburg of Meta and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have been criticized for their firms’ donations to Trumps inauguration fund and for taking meetings with Trump and his allies.
Most notable among the tech billionaires to rub elbows with Trump is Tesla boss Elon Musk, who has taken on unprecedented power within the White House, despite concerns that his involvement in federal affairs marked an improper, if illegal, shift in government protocol.
CNN first reported earlier this month that the White House had begun courting sponsors for the typically apolitical family gathering, at between $75,000 to $200,000.
But after NPR published this story, Nick Clemens, communications director for the first lady, said that a separate entity, the nonprofit White House Historical Association, contracted with a production company named Harbinger which distributed a document about sponsorships for the Egg Roll. The money from the sponsorships will go to the association to “further their mission and support events” like the Egg Roll and Halloween festivities, Clemens said.
In a statement, YouTube said its participation in the Easter Egg Roll “has become an annual tradition, and we do so in line with the administration’s process. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for kids to meet their favorite creators, and we look forward to having a presence once again this year.” NPR reached out to other companies, but they did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The annual event dates back to the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, according to the White House, and save for war and food shortages, have been a mainstay of Pennsylvania Avenue since 1878.
The event, which the White House said used eggs “donated by American egg farmers,” also comes as egg prices in the United States have reached record highs due to an outbreak of avian flu that has forced farmers to kill off millions of egg-laying hens.