EASTER/PASSOVER 2021March 31, 2017

March 31, 2021—Washington, D.C. Responding to bitter invective launched by the America First party, formed after the 2018 midterm elections, Adam Schiff reassured the nation that the White House’s annual Easter Egg hunt will be held this Sunday. “That I’m Jewish and just hosted a family Passover Seder in the White House should not and will not alter a beautiful tradition,” said the 47th president.

During his campaign, President Schiff pledged that being the first Jewish president would not affect his conduct in office “beyond holding to the high moral principles on which I was raised.”

Former president Mike Pence, interviewed on CNN, disavowed America First claims that the annual White House Easter egg hunt would be canceled or that President Schiff would not attend. Mr. Pence, whose 25-month presidency was marked by an inability to move forward initiatives first proposed by his predecessor Donald Trump—including health care, tax reform and infrastructure—has kept a low media profile.

However, he stated, “It’s my duty, especially after last November’s stinging defeat, to speak out against the hateful rhetoric with which a small percentage of Americans assaulted President Schiff during and after the campaign.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, himself Jewish, was “gratified that Mr. Pence stood up to this kind of anti-Semitic hatred that dishonors our country.” Blitzer sought an interview with former president Trump. A spokesperson responded that Mr. Trump “was busy.”

Since resigning in December 2018 after Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate, Mr. Trump has spent almost all his time at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. His wife Melania visits from New York one weekend a month. Mr. Trump is only the second president in American history to resign his office. Richard Nixon did so on August 9, 1974.

In late-April 2018, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), current House minority leader, spoke out that Mr. Trump’s presidency was untenable following the White House’s failure to respond when Russia annexed East Ukraine. Holding fast, Mr. Trump proposed no U.S. response in early June when Russian agents fomented demonstrations in Latvia and Lithuania leading to the establishment over the summer of pro-Russian governments pledged to withdraw from NATO. “Why does NATO need those guys?” he asked.

Mr. Trump’s resignation proved inevitable when in mid-November, “Classic Republicans” insisted that the nation be spared further congressional inquiry and embarrassment. They responded to the joint revelation of a “smoking gun” by then-Representative Schiff (D-California) and then-Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia), who complemented Mr. Schiff’s winning ticket. Both played critical roles in confidential House and Senate reviews of Mr. Trump’s tax returns.

The Justice Department ordered Mr. Trump’s returns made available to Congress in August following media revelations that for over a decade, close associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin made major investments in, and loans to, various Trump companies.

Critics also noted that Mr. Trump wasted more than a billion dollars on the design phase of an unbuilt wall on the Mexican border. A pre-Thanksgiving Gallup poll placed Mr. Trump’s approval rating at eleven percent.

“Easter, like Passover, offers people hope for the future,” said President Schiff. “The United States is beginning a new day. It’s better that we hide colorful eggs children can discover on the White House lawn than bury truth in the Oval Office.”

Reality (absolutely): You can read the first two chapters of my new novel The Odd Plight of Adonis Licht on this website. I’ll host a celebration on Sunday, April 30, selling and autographing softcover books. Can’t be there? Go to Amazon for a copy in softcover or digital format.

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