Trump pardons turkey in White House ceremony
Trump-RFP-120125
President Trump today pardoned Gobble, a North Carolina-raised turkey, in a Rose Garden ceremony and gave wide-ranging comments on crime and what he views as his administration’s accomplishments.
The president usually pardons the turkey designated as the national Thanksgiving turkey and a backup bird, but only Gobble appeared in the Rose Garden. Trump noted that Waddle, the second turkey that traveled to Washington from North Carolina, was “missing in action,” but a National Turkey Federation spokesperson said that Waddle had been presented in the press room before the ceremony.
Trump joked that he wanted to name the birds “Chuck and Nancy,” referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., but said he would never have pardoned them even if First Lady Melania Trump told him to.
Trump said Gobble and Waddle each weigh more than 50 pounds, the heaviest ever brought to the White House for the ceremony.
Trump said that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had declared the two birds “the first ever MAHA turkeys,” a reference to Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again campaign. Trump said the two turkeys “could be fat” but they are “still MAHA.”
In other remarks, Trump declared that Washington, D.C., is now safe and has had no murders in six months. On Nov. 10, however, Fox News reported that there had been three homicides in six hours in Washington.
Trump also claimed it is difficult to get into Washington restaurants and that more restaurants are opening. Restaurant owners have complained, however, that the presence of the National Guard has discouraged patronage.
Trump also urged Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, to invite the National Guard to Chicago to fight crime. Trump called Johnson “incompetent” and Pritzker, who may run for president in 2028, “a big, fat slob.”
Trump asked if Gobble was “violent,” but was told the turkey was not. The president moved near the bird and issued the pardon as the first lady stood by his side.
