Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participated in the time-honored tradition of pardoning a turkey or two just ahead of Thanksgiving, and the 47th president certainly made the ceremony a memorable experience for Americans.
“On behalf of the First Lady and the entire Trump family, I want to wish all Americans a very, very happy Thanksgiving,” the president said, while speaking in the Rose Garden.
The two turkeys pardoned on Tuesday, Gobble and Waddle, were beautiful 50-pound birds with resplendent white feathers. It was a humorous moment when one of the turkeys “gobbled” quite loudly during the president’s speech.
“This is their lucky day,” President Trump joked.
He also said that, based upon an investigation from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice, he had determined that the pardons issued by Joe Biden last year to two turkeys, Peach and Blossom, were “null and void” due to the alleged use of the autopen.
“I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid,” he said, drawing chuckles from the crowd.
“I am officially pardoning them,” the president added, “and they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner.”
The president also joked that he was going to call Tuesday’s turkeys “Chuck” and “Nancy,” but noted, “I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, and then I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them…I wouldn’t care what Melania told me.”
He was referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., both intense political rivals to the president’s America First agenda.
The president quipped that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had assured him that Gobble and Waddle this year were the “first-ever MAHA turkeys.”
He added, “In other words, they could be fat, but they’re still MAHA.”
On a more serious note, the president looked ahead to the special Thanksgiving celebration here in America and wished all citizens a safe and happy holiday.
“I hope all Americans will have the chance to enjoy the fellowship of family and friends and renew our faith in God’s providence,” said President Trump.