Looking Back at the Rich History of the Presidential Turkey Pardon
In a break from the bleak political scene in Washington, D.C. as of late, Tuesday's activities at the White House featured the traditional pardoning of the turkeys. The annual event gives the office of the executive branch the chance to give thanks, make a few jokes, and add some levity to what is usually the seriousness of world and national affairs in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump truly leaned into this executive power when he granted clemency for Gobble and Waddle. The 78th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation was not without political discourse. Trump joked during the presentation that he would have named the turkeys "Chuck and Nancy," in reference to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, but he realized he would never pardon the two Democrats.
Read on for a fun look at this tradition through the years.
History of the Presidential Turkey Pardoning
One of the most beloved holiday traditions in the nation's capital is the annual turkey pardon. These birds have been given as gifts to the White House dating back to the 1870s. According to White House historians, the fowl are symbols of "patriotism and good cheer." Although the pardoning event did not become official until 1989, several presidents had participated in the festivities well before that time.
It is believed that President Abraham Lincoln was the first leader to spare a turkey from slaughter in 1863. White House reporter Noah Brooks detailed that Lincoln's son asked his dad to save the turkey the Lincolns planned to serve for Christmas dinner.
Interestingly, President Harry Truman did not pardon his turkey while in office, despite pictures showing otherwise. Legend has it that Truman only appeared in staged photos with the turkeys in 1947. Instead, the poor turkeys ended up on the White House dinner table.
The Truman Library once released a statement that it has no official documents that show that the president pardoned a turkey at any time during his time in office. However, it was at this time that the official turkey presentation from the National Turkey Federation at the White House began. The federation became the formal turkey supplier to the first family at this time.
According to the White House Historical Association, President John F. Kennedy was the first president to unofficially pardon the bird. Kennedy famously quoted "Let's keep him going," in reference to the turkey in a 1963 article in the Washington Post.
It was during the administration of President Ronald Reagan that the White House began to pardon the turkeys and send them back to a farm. This is also when some of the first ladies began to send their gifted turkeys to regional farms. For example, Patricia Nixon presented her turkey to Maryland's Oxon Hill Children's Farm in 1973. Rosalynn Carter and President Jimmy Carter extended a similar gesture in 1978, traveling to a small zoo at Virginia's Evans Farm Inn to pardon a turkey.
First Official Presidential Turkey Pardon Granted in 1989
The first turkey that was officially granted a presidential pardon was in 1989. President George H.W. Bush delivered a Thanksgiving proclamation granting the bird clemency. From this time on, every president has continued the pardoning tradition in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
President Barack Obama carries the distinction of pardoning the most turkeys of any U.S. president. Obama pardoned two turkeys every year of his two-term presidency, coming in with a total of 16 pardons. The White House Archives note that the two turkeys include the primary bird and its understudy.
Going back to 1989, there have been over 30 turkeys that have been officially pardoned by sitting presidents in the White House. The presidential pardoned turkeys generally spend the rest of their lives at historically important farms, agricultural centers, and universities, serving as ambassadors for the American farming industry.
This year's Gobble and Waddle hatched in July at a farm in North Carolina. Weighing in at 52 and 50 pounds, the turkeys were trained to appear in front of the crowds at the White House, getting acclimated to the bright lights, hordes of onlookers, and loud sounds. The pair even scored a night at a luxurious suite at Washington, D.C.'s Willard InterContinental Hotel.
Both Gobble and Waddle will live out their retirement at North Carolina State University’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science in Raleigh after their pardons.
Not all of the nation's turkeys are as lucky as the ones that make it to the White House for Thanksgiving week. The National Turkey Federation estimates that Americans eat around 46 million turkeys over the holiday. This equates to a whopping 1.4 billion pounds of the bird.
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