'Saved Them In Nick Of Time': Trump Pardons Pair Of Thanksgiving Turkeys In Annual Tradition

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday granted ceremonial pardons to two turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving, continuing a long-standing White House tradition.

The birds, named Waddle and Gobble, were spared from

the dinner table and will instead enjoy a comfortable life following their brief stay at a luxury hotel.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, Trump began by wishing all Americans a “very, very happy Thanksgiving” and praised the country’s economic performance. “It’s a great time of the year, and our country is doing really well economically, like we’ve never done before,” he said.

VIDEO | Washington DC, USA: President Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) pardons turkeys on Thanksgiving holiday.

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He called the day as “a pardon day for a very important beast” and introduced the turkeys as “handsome Thanksgiving turkeys” whose lives would be officially spared.

The US President also took the opportunity to criticise last year’s pardons under former US President Joe Biden, calling them “totally invalid” due to the use of an autopen.

“There was a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden, who used an auto pen last year for the turkeys’ pardon,” Trump said. “I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person except one — Hunter’s pardon was valid. The rest are all invalid.”

The turkeys, Peach and Blossom from last year, as Trump said 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. They will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner. We saved them in the nick of time,” the US President noted

The tradition of pardoning turkeys dates back to former US President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, when historians say he spared a turkey after his son befriended it. Each year, the US president ceremonially spares one or more birds in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, a holiday where roast turkey is typically the centrepiece of the meal.