Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday slammed Republicans for spreading “misinformation” around the White House marking International Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter.
“The criticism over the Transgender Day of Visibility — the White House said that the president wouldn't abuse his faith for political purposes. Does the president think that's what Republicans are doing?” a reporter asked during the White House press briefing.
“I'm so surprised by the misinformation that's been out there around this. And I want to be very clear: Every year for the past several years, on March 31, Transgender Day of Visibility is marked. And as we know, for folks who understand the calendar and how it works, Easter falls on different Sundays every year. This year, it happened to coincide with Transgender Visibility Day,” Jean-Pierre said.
The press secretary addressed the “dishonest rhetoric” from Republicans, who over the weekend railed against the White House for commemorating International Transgender Day of Visibility on the same day as Easter Sunday. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the presidential proclamation “appalling.”
“What we've been hearing out there: a lot of misinformation done on purpose,” Jean-Pierre said. “It is actually unsurprising that politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric. It is dishonest, what we have heard the past 24 hours. It is untrue, what we heard over the weekend.”