The hosts of Fox & Friends spent much of their morning on Tuesday covering the latest “scandal” to rock the White House, yet again wondering aloud if this was solid proof that President Joe Biden isn’t actually in control of his administration.
The controversy in question, which one host helpfully labeled “Bunnygate,” focuses on a White House staffer dressed as the Easter Bunny getting the president’s attention as he answered questions from the press in the middle of Monday’s Easter Egg Roll event.
For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the president welcomed thousands of attendees onto the South Lawn while children participated in an Easter egg hunt and egg roll race—a White House tradition for more than a century. And after greeting guests, Biden came down to the lawn to blow a ceremonial whistle to start the race.
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At one point during the festivities, the president made his way to the sidelines to talk with a reporter, who asked him about Pakistan and Afghanistan. While the president delivered his response, one White House official dressed as a giant Easter Bunny (likely Megan Hays, the director of message planning) waved down Biden and began ushering him away, apparently because he was needed for the next race.
Reacting to footage of a big fluffy rabbit corralling and leading the commander-in-chief away, the Fox News morning show crew took turns describing this as yet another example of Biden being heavily managed by White House officials. (Fox News hosts and commentators have devoted countless segments on Biden supposedly not being in charge due to his alleged cognitive decline.)
After co-host Steve Doocy called it a “bizarre incident,” Ainsley Earhardt suggested Biden wasn’t allowed to talk with the press or even with kids before Doocy jumped back in.
“Bunnygate!” he excitedly added.
Fox News correspondent Alexandria Hoff then delivered a report on the scandal and noted that “the Easter bunny has gained some authority” since the last Easter Egg Roll. She branded it an “interesting moment” in which the costumed staffer “physically stopped” Biden from answering questions.
“How embarrassing is that?” co-host Brian Kilmeade exclaimed. “At least finish the sentence and say ‘Okay, this is a fun day, I’ll catch up to you guys later.’ Instead, [he] turns around like a robot and just pushes away. Who’s in control here? My goodness. You allow that to happen?”
Doocy went on to say that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and other comms staffers “hate it” when Biden takes impromptu questions. (The segment, by the way, was punctuated with an on-air graphic blaring: “Bunny Pulpit?”)
Kilmeade, meanwhile, continued with his rant. “...Or ad-libs off a speech,” he declared. “In all seriousness, she embarrassed the president! This is seen everywhere around the world. This is why Saudi Arabia’s version of SNL is mocking him as a doddering old man being led by the vice president.”
Kilmeade was referencing a recent clip from a Saudi comedy show featuring a man portraying Biden as forgetful and sleepy while a woman acting as Vice President Kamala Harris depicts her as largely helpless in her attempts to assist him.
