On Tuesday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took part in the 78th annual White House turkey pardon.
The President pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, Waddle and Gobble, whose names were chosen online. Both birds weighed over 50 pounds and were spared from being part of the holiday meal. The turkeys, from North Carolina, were chosen through the National Turkey Federation.
“See how happy he is,” Trump said of Gobble, noting that Waddle was not present. “Waddle, by the way, is missing in action, but that’s OK, we can pretend Waddle is here.”
Monica Paige, White House correspondent for Turning Point USA Frontlines, detailed the history of the turkey pardon.
Before the tradition began, turkeys were viewed as symbols of joy and goodwill in the early 1900s and were often given as gifts. But some historians trace the practice as far back as Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s.
President Harry Truman is believed to be the first to pardon a turkey in December 1948, though historians are in dispute. Truman received two turkeys from the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation, though he also noted the birds would make a good Christmas dinner.
Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan continued the practice by sending turkeys to local farms and zoos. However, the modern annual tradition of pardoning turkeys was established during George HW Bush’s administration in 1989. Since then, the event has continued each year, with presidents sparing the birds from the Thanksgiving table.
