Donald Trump’s administration is seeking sponsors for the White House Easter Egg Roll, in a break with tradition that is likely to draw further scrutiny over his government’s relationship with corporate backers.
A pitch document obtained by CNN and the New York Times shows that individuals or companies can pay up to $200,000 to have their brand or name attached to the event, with the promise that investors will gain “valuable brand visibility and national recognition”.
“By partnering with this historic tradition, sponsors can engage with diverse audiences, showcase their commitment to community and education, and align with a beloved American event,” the document says.
There are three sponsorship packages: ranging from $200,000, to $100,000 and $75,000. Potential sponsors are told they will be able to “engage with White House Press Corps on South Lawn” and that their company logos will appear on event signage.
Tickets for the egg roll are historically given out free of charge through a lottery process. But sponsors of the event will receive up to 100 general admission tickets and 50 “VIP tickets”, which includes access to a brunch in the White House hosted by the first lady, Melania Trump.
The Easter Egg Roll has been a Washington staple since 1878, when President Rutherford B Hayes allowed a group of schoolchildren to roll eggs on the South Lawn. The event has not been without controversy: black families were not admitted until 1954, but it has since become a fondly regarded tradition that has typically been politics-free.
News that the government is seeking sponsors comes after Trump held a remarkable event on the White House lawn which promoted Tesla, the company owned by Elon Musk. At that event Trump described Tesla, which was recently forced to recall 46,000 Cybertrucks, as a “great American company” and said he planned to buy one of the cars.
Donald Sherman, the chief counsel and executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CNN he had “never seen anything like this before” associated with a White House.
“I understand that there are corporate sponsors for the Easter Egg Roll,” Sherman told CNN. “What I have not seen before is sort of the outright solicitation and the use of the imprimatur of the White House to give corporate sponsorship.”
