As President Donald Trump participated in the 78th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning Ceremony on Tuesday, he took advantage of an opportunity to poke fun at Democratic Party leadership and shine a spotlight on the accomplishments he’s achieved during his first year in office.
The president issued a pardon for a pair of turkeys named Gobble and Waddle, referring to them as “record-setting” birds, each weighing in at over 50 pounds. While President Trump’s remarks were full of the usual lighthearted humor we’ve all come to expect from the event, he also directed some sharp rhetoric toward his opponents in the Democratic Party.
He first poked fun at former President Joe Biden, joking the pardons issued for the previous year’s turkeys were “null and void” because Biden used “autopen.” He said that “Peach” and “Blossom” were found as they were on their way to be processed, or as the president said, “in other words, to be killed!” To the relief of the crowd, President Trump revealed that he saved them in the nick of time, giving them official pardons and literally saving their necks.
After the opening volley of shots at Biden, Trump turned his sights on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, stating that he was going to name this year’s turkeys after them. “I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy. But then I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them,” Trump said.
The president continued, noting that there’s no chance he’d ever issue a pardon for Schumer and Pelosi, not even at the behest of his beautiful bride, the lovely First Lady Melania. “I would never pardon those two people,” Trump told the crowd. “I wouldn’t care what Melania told me, ‘Darling, I think it would be a nice thing to do.’ I won’t do it, darling!”
Trump was also planning to take a shot at Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has been a thorn in the side of the administration in their efforts to enforce national immigration laws and deport criminal illegals who have wreaked havoc in the state, particularly the city of Chicago. According to the Associated Press, President Trump told the crowd in attendance that he had a wisecrack about Pritzker ready to go, but opted not to use it, saying, “I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob. I don’t mention it.”
The joke got some laughter throughout the crowd despite the sharpness of the barb. As the event continued, the president referred to the birds as “MAHA” turkeys, going on to say, “These are two of the largest turkeys ever presented to an American president, over 50 pounds each. That’s the largest we’ve ever had.”
"*" indicates required fields
President Trump closed out the event by asking if Waddle and Gobble were aggressive and would attack him as he walked by, saying if so, he’d stay at the podium. “Are they violent at all? Will they attack as I walk over? Because if they were, I’ll stay right up here.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video