Skip to main content
On Air Now

Trump pardons Thanksgiving turkeys and cannot resist a jibe at predecessor Joe Biden

The President joked that Biden's pardoning of turkeys Peach and Blossom were unlawful due to autopen

Share

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, stand next to national Thanksgiving turkey Gobble.
Donald Trump has continued an American tradition as he pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys. Picture: Alamy

By Chay Quinn

Donald Trump has continued an American tradition as he pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys which will be spared from the dinner table and live out its days on a farm.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Gobble and Waddle will no longer be eaten as the White House continued the jovial tradition dating back as far as Richard Nixon in 1969.

After introducing Gobble and Waddle to the White House press corps, the latest fowl went missing for the former ceremony in the Rose Garden.

Standing alongside First Lady Melania Trump, the President pardoned Gobble and erstwhile Waddle ahead of the American holiday this Thursday.

Read More:

Read More:

U.S. President Donald Trump (C) pardons National Thanksgiving Turkey
U.S. President Donald Trump (C) pardons National Thanksgiving Turkey. Picture: Getty
President Donald Trump, center, and first lady Melania Trump, right, stand next to the national Thanksgiving turkey.
President Donald Trump, center, and first lady Melania Trump, right, stand next to the national Thanksgiving turkey. Picture: Alamy

In a cheeky swipe at his predecessor, President Trump also re-pardoned the 2024 turkeys after he insisted that the pardons issued to Peach and Blossom were invalid due to Joe Biden's use of an autopen.

Mr Trump told White House staffers, Cabinet members and their families: "I wanted to make an important announcement.

"Because you remember last year, after a thorough and very rigorous investigation by [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and all of the people at Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and the White House Counsel's Office…I have determined that last year's turkey pardons are totally invalid."

He jokingly declared the pardons "null and void".

White House: President Biden national Thanksgiving turkeys Peach and Blossom
In a cheeky swipe at his predecessor, President Trump also re-pardoned the 2024 turkeys after he insisted that the pardons issued to Peach and Blossom were invalid due to Joe Biden's use of an autopen. Picture: Getty

He added: "The turkeys known as Peach and Blossom last year have been located, and they were on their way to be processed, in other words, to be killed.

"But I've stopped that journey, and I am officially pardoning them. And they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner. We saved them in the nick of time."