Waddle and Gobble, the two lucky turkeys chosen online by the public, received a presidential pardon from President and Melania Trump this year as part of their annual Rose Garden ceremony, pending the finalization of a joint US-Ukraine agreement on the terms of its disengagement with Russia, likely around Thanksgiving.
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Gobble attended the ceremony, while Waddle was absent, with the president jokingly commenting that “we can imagine him being here”. The two turkeys were previously hosted at the luxury Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington and will return to North Carolina to live under the supervision of the State University.
The tradition of presidential pardons for turkeys officially began in 1989, although presidents such as Kennedy and Reagan had already euthanized turkeys during their terms.
“Look how happy he is,” the president commented about Gobble during the ceremony.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump did not fail to boast about his administration’s achievements, including passing “a great, great bill,” improving urban security and reducing international conflict. At the same time, he criticized political opponents such as former President Joe Biden, accusing him of giving invalid favors to last year’s turkeys, as well as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, joking that he thought of naming the birds after them.
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White House press secretary Caroline Levitt, holding her son Nico, reacts as Waddle, one of two turkeys pardoned by US President Donald Trump on Thanksgiving, makes his appearance before reporters in the White House briefing room in Washington.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Commerce Secretary Howard Latnick, Attorney General Pam Boddy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, FBI Director Cass Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Vice President Jay D. Vance pose with Gobble – the second turkey to was pardoned on Thanksgiving Day – in the White House Rose Garden.
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