Donald Trump turned the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House into a spectacle of rambling jokes and political barbs, breaking with decades of tradition. The event, typically a lighthearted affair, saw the president deliver a disjointed speech that veered from turkey pardons to attacks on political opponents.
Trump opened by mocking the traditional grass lawn, replaced with Mar-a-Lago-style paving stones, and claimed last year's pardons were invalid. He then pivoted to Hunter Biden, nuclear power, border security, and the price of eggs, leaving the audience of officials and family members largely silent. Only a few sycophantic chuckles greeted his references to Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
The ceremony was further marred by Trump's description of a state governor as “a big, fat slob” and his boast that his turkeys, weighing over 50lb, were larger than those of his predecessors. The event concluded with Trump pardoning two turkeys named Peach and Blossom, who he claimed were saved from slaughter.
