President Donald Trump dramatically upended a cherished White House tradition on Tuesday, using the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon ceremony to launch partisan attacks and revoke the pardons granted by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
A Tradition Turned Political
In a ceremony typically marked by lighthearted humour, President Trump addressed guests in the Rose Garden, including the wife and children of Vice President JD Vance. He began by boasting about his newly renovated patio, which he claimed prevented attendees from ‘sinking into the mud’ on a rainy afternoon in Washington.
The event quickly took a dark and unusual turn. Before pardoning this year's turkeys, named Waddle and Gobble, Trump declared he had an ‘important announcement’. He stated that a ‘thorough and very rigorous investigation’ involving figures like Pam Bondi and agencies including the Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and the White House Counsel's Office had uncovered a scandal from the previous administration.
The 'Autopen' Accusation and a Grisly Reprieve
President Trump claimed the investigation found that then-President Joe Biden had used an autopen device to pardon the 2024 turkeys, Peach and Blossom. ‘I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined that last year’s Turkey pardons are totally invalid,’ he proclaimed. ‘They’re hereby null and void.’
In a startling revelation, he announced that the birds from the previous year, Peach and Blossom, ‘had been located, and they were on their way to be processed. In other words, to be killed.’ However, Trump added that he had ‘stopped that journey’ just in time and was now ‘officially pardoning’ them, saving them ‘in the nick of time.’
A Ceremony Overshadowed by Grievances
The bizarre episode transformed a jovial event into a platform for the President's familiar political complaints. Beyond targeting Mr Biden, Trump also took the opportunity to vent about crime in Democratic-led cities, making reference to a woman set ablaze on a Chicago subway, which cast a further pall over the proceedings.
The ceremony, held on Tuesday 25 November 2025, will be remembered not for its customary festive spirit but for its stark display of partisan division, setting a contentious tone for the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
