Overview
- President Donald Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, carried out the annual turkey pardon in the White House Rose Garden.
- Trump cracked jokes about last year’s turkeys pardoned by Joe Biden, saying autopen signatures made those pardons invalid, and noted that backup bird Waddle was not onstage.
- Gobble and Waddle were raised in North Carolina and were selected through the National Turkey Federation’s process after a public naming vote.
- The turkeys stayed at a Washington hotel before the event and will live under the care of North Carolina State University following the pardon.
- The lighthearted event came as Trump faces recent political setbacks and legal challenges, with plans to travel to his Florida resort after the ceremony.