By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-25 17:02:01 | Updated at 2024-11-27 03:48:52
1 day ago
The lame duck President Joe Biden gave Thanksgiving pardons to turkeys Blossom and Peach on Monday to save them from an American family feast.
The 82-year-old participated in his last sparing of the gobbling poultry, giving the two lucky birds a long life on a farm instead of being someone's holiday dinner.
The commander-in-chief filled his speech with cringeworthy one-liners about 'fowl' play that was at one point interrupted by Peach's gurgle.
'Yeah I hear you. Peach wants to speak a little bit,' Biden responded.
'They tell me 2500 people are here… looking for a pardon!' Biden joked as he addressed the crowd on the South Lawn.
'Keep calm and gobble on' he added before turning to a more serious note to reflect on the 'honor of a lifetime' serving as president.
The lame duck President Joe Biden gave Thanksgiving pardons to turkeys Blossom and Peach on Monday to save them from an American family feast
President Joe Biden with his grandson Baby Beau
Beau Biden examines one of the turkeys
The topic of pardons has been constant in the White House with Hunter Biden facing sentencing for tax crimes next months.
The president has said repeatedly he won't pardon or commute his son's sentence.
But Biden does have the power to give a reprieve to anyone he wants, including his son, those people worried about retribution from Donald Trump, and even turkeys.
'I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom!,' he declared. While he did the pardoning, Hunter's son Baby Beau watched from the sidelines.
Blossom and Peach weight 40 and 41 pounds, respectively, and were raised on a farm in Northfield, Minnesota.
They were raised by John Zimmerman, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and his 9-year-old son, Grant.
Zimmerman told reporters he's been training the two birds to get used to the lights, cameras and noise that take place at the pardoning.
'We've been getting them used to lights, camera and even introducing them to a wide variety of music, everything from polka to classic rock,' he said.
Ahead of their official pardon, the two lucky birds stay at the famed Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel.
President Joe Biden with grandson Baby Beau and Peach the turkey
The 82-year-old participated in his last sparing of the gobbling poultry on Monday, giving the two lucky birds a long life on a farm instead of being someone's holiday dinner
Beau Biden with Peach and Blossom, the Thanksgiving turkeys
Biden walks to the Oval Office before pardoning the National Thanksgiving turkeys
Blossom, one of two turkeys to be pardoned by President Joe Biden for Thanksgiving, sits in a crate on the White House South Lawn
Blossom and Peach stand on the South Lawn ahead of the traditional Thanksgiving Ceremony
Photographers crouch to get a photo of Blossom before the White House pardoning
After being pardoned by, the turkeys will return to live at Farmamerica, an agricultural interpretive center in Waseca, Minnesota.
There's a bit of mystery and controversy over the history of the event.
Abraham Lincoln was the first president to pardon a turkey in 1863, reportedly because his son Tad became attached to the bird.
Harry Truman was the first president to receive a live turkey from The Turkey Federation in 1948. But he and his family ate it.
The federation started sending turkeys to the White House for a pardon in 1963, when John F. Kennedy was president. He and his successors, from then on, participated in what has become a fun, if unique, tradition.
After the pardoning, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will head to New York to participate in a tradition they started with their tenure: Friendsgiving with the troops.
President Joe Biden pardons the National Thanksgiving turkey Peach, alongside Chair of the National Turkey Federation John Zimmerman and his son Grant
The two turkeys that got a reprieve pose for photos for the press at the famed Willard Hotel in Washington D.C.
Blossom and Peach weight 40 and 41 pounds, respectively, and were raised on a farm in Northfield, Minnesota
The Bidens will be in Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island to serve dinner at the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York.
The event is part of the first lady's Joining Forces initiative.
The first family will spend Thanksgiving on Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts.
It's their long-standing tradition and they are expected to be accompanied by their family.
The Bidens are scheduled to leave on Tuesday and return on Saturday. President Biden leaves on Sunday for a trip to Angola.
