‘You’re All Full Of Sh*t’: Vance Quips At Thanksgiving Lunch, Says Turkey Isn’t As Good As Chicken

US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday quipped that turkey meat does not taste as good as chicken while addressing troops at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

Vance asked troops during his speech: “Who really likes — be honest with yourself, who really likes Turkey?”

After soldiers raised their hands, Vance joked: “You are all full of sh*t. Everybody who raised your hands… Turkey doesn’t actually taste that good. Chicken is good all the time.”

Vance, Second Lady Usha Chilukuri, their children Mirabel Vance, Vivek Vance and Ewan Vance spent Thanksgiving with the troops. A video of Mirabel and the other Vance kids with mother Usha serving food to troops — with Mirabel handing butter to soldiers — won hearts online.

Cultural Relevance Of Turkey

Turkey is the iconic centrepiece of an

American Thanksgiving meal. The tradition dates back to the early 17th century, when settlers and Native Americans held harvest feasts, and wild turkey was one of the most abundant birds available.

A Thanksgiving table in the US is almost unimaginable without a roast turkey; it is as culturally ingrained as sweets during Diwali or biryani during Eid.

Vance: Who really likes — be honest with yourself, who really likes Turkey? You are all full of shit. Everybody who raised your hands… Turkey doesn't actually taste that good. Chicken is good all the time. pic.twitter.com/4TDDHAihUv

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 26, 2025

Every year since the late 1980s, the US President “pardons” one or two live turkeys at the White House. It is a light-hearted tradition in which the birds are ceremonially spared from becoming Thanksgiving dinner.

The modern version is credited to President George H. W. Bush (1989), though earlier presidents also participated informally. The pardoned turkeys are then sent to farms, petting zoos or universities to live out the rest of their lives.

Turkey Vs Chicken

Thanksgiving drives the largest single-day turkey consumption in the US. Nearly 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving Day alone every year, according to the US National Turkey Federation, followed by 22 million on Christmas and 19 million on Easter.

The average American consumes around 7 kg of turkey annually.

However, poultry is the most-consumed animal protein in the United States, and chicken makes up the lion’s share of that. Americans eat nearly eight times more chicken than turkey in a year, with an American consuming close to 47 kilos annually, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Hence while turkey holds strong symbolic and cultural weight — especially during occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas — it is only a small fraction of the average American’s yearly meat intake.