In a moment that turned heads across both sides of the political aisle, the Democratic National Committee found itself under fire from within its own base this Easter—not for what it said, but for what it didn’t.
On Sunday, the DNC’s official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a seemingly cheerful holiday greeting: “Happy Easter!” The post was accompanied by a collage of photos showing former Democratic presidents: John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. One name was conspicuously absent from the visual tribute: Joseph R. Biden Jr., the party’s most recent president and former standard-bearer.
The omission lit up social media and political commentary circles in seconds.
Biden’s absence is more than just a missing photo. It comes on the heels of his early retirement from the 2024 race, a decision that stunned many and reshaped the Democratic Party’s strategy. Though eligible to run for a second term, Biden bowed out in mid-2024, publicly citing the need to pass the torch and privately acknowledging concerns over his age and stamina. He threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, but her campaign fell short, losing decisively to Donald Trump in both the Electoral College and the popular vote—the latter a first-time achievement for Trump in his three presidential bids.
Happy Easter! pic.twitter.com/C6lnY5jazq
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) April 20, 2025
Now, with Trump once again in the Oval Office, the Democratic Party finds itself fractured, with questions still swirling about how the Biden presidency is being remembered—or quietly brushed aside.
Before leaving office, Biden made it clear he believed he could still defeat Trump if he had stayed in the race. In late December and January interviews, he expressed regret over stepping down, insisting he was confident in his ability to win again. But political winds had shifted, and party insiders pushed for a new face, citing Biden’s age as a mounting liability.
That context makes the DNC’s Easter post all the more striking. Whether intentional or accidental, omitting Biden from a holiday message that featured every other living Democratic president may reflect deeper unease within party leadership about how to reckon with Biden’s tenure—a presidency marked by legislative wins and deep polarization, a pandemic recovery and a painful exit.
Adding fuel to the fire, Donald Trump’s own Easter message was anything but subtle. Taking to Truth Social, Trump delivered a scorched-earth holiday post, accusing Biden of enabling an “open borders policy” that brought “Millions of CRIMINALS” into the country. Trump reiterated that Biden was the “WORST and most Incompetent President,” claiming the real power during his term may have rested with “the person that ran and manipulated the Auto Pen.”
In classic Trumpian fashion, the tirade ended with a sarcastic twist: a pointed “Happy Easter” directed at Biden, his allies, and those Trump accuses of “cheating” in the 2020 election.
Whether the DNC’s omission was a deliberate slight or a tone-deaf oversight, the political fallout is telling. It underscores a party still grappling with its post-Biden identity, uncertain about how to celebrate its recent past while bracing for another Trump presidency.
Biden may no longer be in office—but his legacy, and the divisions surrounding it, are still very much in the spotlight. And this Easter, a missing photo said more than words ever could.
