US President Donald J. Trump carried forward the long-standing Thanksgiving tradition on Tuesday as he formally pardoned two turkeys, Gobble and Waddle, during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.
The two birds, raised on a farm in North Carolina, arrived in Washington earlier this week and spent the night at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel before their appearance at the event. Only Gobble was presented on stage, with Trump joking that Waddle was “missing in action” but “pardoned nonetheless.”
Addressing the gathering, Trump mixed humour with political jabs. He suggested he had considered naming the turkeys after Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, “but that wouldn’t be very fair — because I’m not pardoning them.”
Trump also revisited last year’s ceremony, claiming that the 2024 presidential pardon for turkeys Peach and Blossom was “invalid” because it had been signed using an autopen. He announced that he was “re-pardoning” them.
The President used the occasion to highlight falling food and poultry prices ahead of the holiday season, noting that Thanksgiving dinner would be “more affordable for American families this year.”
Following the ceremony, Gobble and Waddle were transported to North Carolina State University, where they will live under veterinary care.
The annual turkey pardoning, a light-hearted tradition that began in the late 1940s and became formalized under President George H.W. Bush in 1989, continues to serve as a symbolic start to the Thanksgiving festivities across the United States.
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