President Joe Biden quipped Monday that Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was “thoroughly uninformed” when he spoke out against Biden’s official acknowledgement of “Transgender Day of Visibility”—a decade-old holiday that falls on March 31 annually, which happened to fall on the same day as Easter this year.
Biden’s quip came during the Easter Egg Roll at the White House, where he briefly spoke with reporters about the fiasco, whipped up by Republicans who it appeared initially thought Biden himself had created the day—including Johnson and Donald Trump.
When asked a follow-up question asking how Johnson was uninformed, Biden reportedly responded, “I didn’t do that.”
The ordeal began Friday when Biden issued a statement “proclaiming” that his office recognizes the date—a formality the White House observes for hundreds of other holidays throughout the year.
By Sunday, there was a full right-wing eruption as conservative pundits and Republican politicians learned that the pro-trans holiday happened to fall on Easter Sunday. The two won’t fall on the same date again until 2086.
Johnson blasted the White House over its proclamation—and for upholding rules that prevented religious symbols from being used in an Easter egg art contest.
“The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter—which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Johnson wrote on X. “Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’—is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.”
He apparently hadn’t bothered to check that event’s history, either—which included rules that have been in place since 1978. The previous administration, helmed by Donald Trump, also upheld the ban on religious imagery in the contest.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House’s press secretary, also addressed the outrage Monday, telling reporters she was “surprised by the misinformation that’s been out there.”
“For folks who understand the calendar and how it works, Easter falls on different Sundays every year and this year, it happened to coincide with Transgender Visibility Day, and so that is the simple fact,” she said. “This misinformation out there is just—it’s just bad, and it is dividing us.”
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