President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned the Thanksgiving turkeys in a Rose Garden ceremony. He then left for Sunshine, Fla., where Vice President Mike Pence was waiting at a campaign rally to welcome the president to the state that he recently declared to be his home.

“It’s said that Abraham Lincoln was the first president to spare a Thanksgiving turkey, at the request of his son. In 1947, President Harry Truman accepted the first annual National Thanksgiving Turkey,” Trump said. “In the decades that followed, presidents, from Kennedy to Reagan, would show mercy to their birds, but it was George H.W. Bush who first issued an official pardon. In keeping with that tradition, today I will issue a pardon to a pair of very handsome birds: Butter and his alternate, Bread.”

Trump added that the North Carolina Jackson family raised the turkeys “to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they’ve already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff’s basement on Thursday,” a reference to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is one of the Democrats conducting the impeachment investigation.

Trump continued, “It’s true. Hundreds of people have. It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. But, Bread and Butter, I should note that, unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met. It’s very unusual. Very unusual.

“So now we reach the moment Bread and Butter have been waiting for so patiently – their presidential pardons. Melania and I wish all Americans a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. We love you all.”

The Trumps left almost immediately after the ceremony for Florida.

After the rally, Trump went to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach resort home, for the holiday weekend.