Former US President Donald Trump has suggested that his successor, Joe Biden, was “taking orders” from the Easter Bunny. Biden has been mocked online for being whisked away by a person in a bunny suit while talking to a reporter.
Trump ripped into his successor during a speech in Delaware, Ohio on Saturday, where he was campaigning for Republicans for this November’s midterm elections.
“He’s shaking hands with the air. He’s walking around somewhat bewildered – I’d say it’s no good – and taking orders from the Easter Bunny. You saw that one?” the 45th president said.
“You know, the Easter Bunny was a political operative. He did a good job actually. We should hire that guy.”
Trump was referring to a viral moment at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, when a person in an Easter Bunny costume suddenly approached Biden from behind as the president was answering a reporter’s question about Afghanistan, and abruptly escorted him away. The scene spurred memes and mockery on social media.
Opponents often ridicule the 79-year-old president for his gaffes and behavior at public events.
During a visit to North Carolina last week, Biden moved his hand at the end of a speech in a manner that some observers described as “shaking hands with thin air.” Fact-checking website PolitiFact, however, argued that Biden was merely “gesturing towards the audience.”
The president made a similar hand gesture after a speech in Seattle on Friday.
Trump had his own viral Easter Bunny moment in 2017. He gave a speech from the White House balcony while being flanked by former First Lady Melania Trump and an Easter Bunny with cartoonish, oversized glasses.