The White House Press Secretary denied claims that President Biden had declared March 31, 2024 as both Easter Sunday and Transgender Day of Visibility.
She asserted this was a case of intentional misinformation being spread about the president.
While Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility happened to fall on the same day in 2024, she emphasized that Easter falls on a different Sunday each year and the president supports upholding everyone’s freedom and dignity.
On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know.
Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. pic.twitter.com/mhixHV9KC2
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 31, 2024
“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,” Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedom of every American,” Jean-Pierre said.
Biden’s critics are “seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric that we’ve heard the past 24 hours,” she said.
Some conservatives had criticized Biden for supposedly devaluing Easter in favor of Transgender Day of Visibility, but the Press Secretary stated this was an untrue narrative and decried the spread of such misinformation.
“Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’—is outrageous and abhorrent,” Speaker Mike Johnson said.
“The American people are taking note.”
“It is untrue what we heard over the weekend,” Jean-Pierre said.
“And this misinformation out there is just … it’s bad,” she added.
“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity,” Biden stated.
