President Joe Biden was rescued from having to answer a tough question about Afghanistan by a fortuitous interruption from the Easter bunny. A costumed staffer appeared to whisk the president away after he began to discuss Afghanistan at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, prompting speculation that the Easter bunny was assigned to serve as Biden’s “handler” during the event to ensure that he said nothing too substantial to reporters.
Easter bunny acts as Biden’s “handler”
The president himself seemed to be even more bothered by the sudden appearance of the Easter bunny than he was by the difficult question, asked by Afghan reporter Nazira Karimi.
Biden appeared to be somewhat shocked and irritated when the Easter bunny rushed in to steer him away, though Biden was evidently happy to cut off his answer.
The video that shows the incident contains only a few seconds of Biden’s interrupted response to Karimi, in which he can be heard saying something about Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Both of these nations are in turmoil at the moment and a question about them is the last thing a worried White House staffer would want the president to encounter at a lighthearted Easter egg hunt.
Press official Meghan Hays, one of the staffers who plays a role in controlling reporters’ access to Biden, later posted a photo of herself in the costume.
The Easter bunny also made an appearance a press conference with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who quipped “no more bunny business” as she took the podium.
It's like his arch nemesis showed up. pic.twitter.com/YjP0MFNIf6
— Brett R. Smith (@BrettRSmith76) April 18, 2022
Staff steers Biden away from questions
Biden’s leporine handler was obviously afraid of what Biden would say if he had a chance to complete his answer, but the awkward interruption proved to be even more embarrassing for the White House.
The unfortunate moment prompted derision from Biden’s critics, who were happy to highlight the fact that ” Even the Easter Bunny knows not to let Joe Biden talk foreign policy.”
Afghanistan is one of the worst disasters the Biden administration has dealt with so far, and staffers are understandably afraid of allowing unscripted remarks on the subject from the president.
Biden received much of the blame for the Taliban’s reconquest of the country last year. That disaster is one of several key failures that have shattered Biden’s approval ratings.
Biden rarely takes questions, so a reporter like Nazira Karimi who wants to ask him about these failures has no choice but to interrupt an entirely unrelated Easter event.
White House staff must be aware of the danger if even the Easter bunny is assigned to intervene if necessary, but increasing press access to Biden at pre-planned events is still apparently out of the question.
