The Surprised One Is the Dad

April 20, 2022 3:45 PM

I Made A Joke About The White House Easter Bunnies, But Then I Learned The Moving Story Behind Them
posted by Etrigan (11 comments total)

"Long before he became Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer even wore a bunny costume during George W. Bush's administration."

It's so rare that you can pinpoint the exact moment when someone's career peaks, and yet here we are.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:06 PM on April 20, 2022 [19 favorites]

I really enjoyed the Easter Bunny article yesterday (and Jen Psaki's bringing back a bunny to the press room again!), but a sequel? Too cute! Love it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2022

Awwwww! ❤️🥚
posted by wenestvedt at 5:43 PM on April 20, 2022

Fred Fielding also apparently liked being in the bunny suit from what I've read/been told.

The story is cute but the people in the costume ... well ...

Better people should be the bunny!
posted by edencosmic at 6:25 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]

John Schenz was a fixture at the bar I'm drinking at right now. He was introduced to me by by my SO at the time with the name he gave her, "Trouble"
I called him Trouble for years.
I wish I had better anecdotes to share, I'm should ask around..
posted by tresbizzare at 8:35 PM on April 20, 2022 [9 favorites]

Oh that Ronnie!
posted by Ideefixe at 9:42 PM on April 20, 2022

That was fun to read. Lovly bunnies!
posted by chavenet at 4:14 AM on April 21, 2022

This was a charming story for sure. But I am aghast at the laissez faire attitude of the White House about who is in the costume each year! I was a quasi-professional costume guy in high school and college, working for a local agency for corporate events around my hometown. Anybody can put on a costume and awkwardly poke around, but it's HARD to be a proper character. I have my doubts that Sean Spicer - talented at make believe as he may be - had that skill.
posted by AgentRocket at 8:03 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh I'd say Spicer was quite a performer. And I mean his turn at the Ministry of Truth, not his later TV dancing career. It takes real talent to stand up and tell absolute direct lies knowing you are lying. But let's not sully this sweet story about White House costumes.

I really appreciated the straightforward mention of Schenz and his male partner. I went looking for more info on John Schenz and partner Stephen Rausch but pretty much everything I could find online is related to the White House Easter Bunnies. Judging by this video clip in the article I suspect he was quite a well known local character.
posted by Nelson at 8:28 AM on April 21, 2022

In 2009 I was a "bunny wrangler" for the White House Easter Egg Roll. Those costumes are cute, but they're constructed in such a way that whoever is in them can't see anything below roughly knee level -- AKA the level that most small children are at. Each bunny gets assigned a "wrangler" to make sure that there's not a traumatic trampling event on the south lawn. As for who was in the suits, at least in the slightly chaotic early days of the Obama administration it was an assortment of very low level White House staff and campaign alumni who were available to show up at the White House at 5:00 in the morning and spend the day in a sweaty rabbit suit.

It's still one of my favorite memories from that time period. In fact, when I was on Jeopardy last year it was my "fun fact" to discuss with the host and it got a laugh from Mayim Bialik.
posted by fancypants at 10:24 AM on April 21, 2022 [11 favorites]

Is this something I'd need a television to understand? (I'm kidding. But, I've also genuinely never heard any hint of this ritual until today.)

I've no objection to White House bunnies. Especially compared to NORAD Santa tracking and the Turkey Pardon, both of which are a lot more disturbing than the media seems to appreciate.
posted by eotvos at 11:26 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]