President Donald Trump pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey at the White House on Tuesday, fulfilling a presidential tradition that stretches back to President Abraham Lincoln.
Gobbling on-cue pic.twitter.com/RtBfMzSEWu
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 21, 2017
The president joked that he was a “much nicer president,” after pointing out that President Harry Truman did not pardon a turkey presented to him.
“He was a tough cookie,” Trump remarked, referring to Truman.
The president joined his wife First Lady Melania Trump and his youngest son Barron Trump for the occasion at the White House. His daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Trump also attended the ceremony with their two children.
Trump’s two turkeys, named ‘Drumstick’ and ‘Wishbone’ were brought to the White House, but ‘Drumstick’ was the one chosen to be the official turkey in an online poll conducted by staff.
“Drumstick, I think, will be very happy,” Trump said, prior to the pardon.
He joked that White House lawyers told him that he could not revoke Obama’s pardons of two turkeys “Tater” and “Tot.”
“Tater and Tot, you can rest easy,” he said.
The president extended a Thanksgiving greeting to Americans, especially to the members of the United States military, law enforcement, and first responders.
“These are incredible people, so thank you,” Trump said.
He urged Americans to come together on Thanksgiving and pointed to the many blessings that they enjoyed as citizens.
“Let us also renew our bonds of trust, loyalty, and affection between our fellow citizens as members of a proud national family of Americans,” he said.
The turkey ‘Wishbone’ made an appearance at the White House briefing room with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, as photographers and camera crews flocked around the turkey.
“He’ll give you guys the inside scoop,” Sanders joked.
During the event, reporters asked Sanders for information about President Donald Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin
“Yeah, I think Wishbone was literally on the call,” she replied jokingly.
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