Politics
WATCH: Trump Jokes That Biden’s Turkey Pardons Are ‘Null And Void’ Due To Autopen
During the official White House turkey pardon on Tuesday, President Donald Trump joked that former President Joe Biden’s pardons for last year’s turkeys were “null and void” due to his predecessor’s use of autopen technology to sign the overwhelming majority of pardons issued during his tenure.
The White House Turkey Pardon is a longstanding American tradition where the sitting U.S. president ceremonially spares one or two live turkeys from becoming part of a Thanksgiving dinner, granting them a “pardon” to live out their days at a farm or educational facility rather than on a plate. On Tuesday, the president and First Lady Melania Trump hosted the 78th annual ceremony in the Rose Garden.
This year’s two star birds, Wayne County, North Carolina-raised 52-pound Gobble and 50-pound Waddle, were celebrated by President Trump as the first two “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) Turkeys in the event’s history.
Only the aptly-named Gobble — a particularly vocal bird that interrupted the president’s speech with multiple gobbles — participated in the ceremony, which was filled with several jokes from the president. “Gobble, I just wanted to let you know, this is very important. You are hereby unconditionally pardoned,” the president said, which was met with a “gobble” from Gobble, right on cue.
During his remarks, the president joked that a sweeping investigation was underway into “a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden. He used an auto pen last year for the turkey’s pardon. So I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person.”
Trump went on to state that last year’s turkey pardons were “null and void” as a result of Biden’s conduct.
“The turkeys known as peach and blossom last year have been located, and they were on their way to be processed. In other words, to be killed. But I have stopped that journey, and I am officially pardoning them, and they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner,” the president went on, drawing laughs from attendees. “We saved them in the nick of time. This one has plenty of time, but they were saved in the nick of time.”
