The 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll has gone corporate.
President Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, will welcome guests to the South Lawn on Monday to celebrate the annual event. First hosted by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878, the White House Easter Egg Roll has become a tradition that now includes 30,000 eggs.
The White House unveiled the full list of the event’s partnerships on Friday, revealing what appears to be yet another effort by Big Tech companies to make nice with the Trump administration.
Meta will provide an “AI-Powered Experience and Photo Opportunity,” while Amazon will provide a reading nook and a “Family Photo Opportunity Celebrating Reading.” YouTube, owned by Google, arranged the Bunny Hop Stage.
The New York Stock Exchange also agreed to partner and provide a “Ringing of the Bell Photo Opportunity.”
The White House used event company Harbinger to find corporate sponsors for this year’s event, according to CNN. The outlet reported that offers ranged from $75,000 to $200,000 with logo and brand opportunities. While the event has had sponsors in the past, it was previously tightly controlled. The expanded branding opportunities are new territory for the Oval Office.
“I understand that there are corporate sponsors for the Easter Egg Roll,” Donald Sherman, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 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.”
Jim WATSON / AFP
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are among the Silicon Valley titans who’ve worked to gain favor with Trump in recent months. The pair, alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others, pledged $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee last December.
In January, Zuckerberg named longtime Republican Joe Kaplan as Meta’s head of policy, replacing former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Meta also announced several policy changes to how it moderates content, including axing third-party fact-checkers — a move likely meant to appease Trump, who once sued Zuckerberg and threatened him with prison after Facebook banned Trump’s account in the wake of the Capitol riots.
Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, meanwhile, prevented the newspaper from endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. In February, Bezos also shook up the Post’s opinion section, saying it would now focus on defending “personal liberties and free markets.”
For its part, Google also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. A spokesperson for YouTube told Business Insider that its participation in the White House Easter Egg Roll “has become an annual tradition, and we do so in line with the administration’s process.”
It’s the tech giant’s third consecutive year participating in the White House Easter Egg Roll. “Our goal is to provide an opportunity for kids to meet their favorite creators, and we look forward to having a presence once again this year,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for Amazon declined to comment. Meta, the New York Stock Exchange, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The partnerships come as the tech industry navigates Trump’s ongoing trade war with China. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week said tech companies would be excluded from reciprocal tariffs, but could be subject to additional tariffs in the near future.
Ahead of the event, Melania Trump shared an X post thanking White House staff.
“As families across the nation gather to celebrate Easter, I extend my gratitude to the dedicated East Wing Staff for their tireless effort in preparing the upcoming White House Easter Egg Roll,” she wrote on X. “This cherished tradition, rooted in history since 1878, brings joy, storytelling, and laughter to America’s children. I look forward to watching all of the smiles light up this memorable day, on Monday.”
