President Joe Biden continued a longstanding White House tradition Monday by pardoning two large turkeys ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The birds, named Peach and Blossom — after the Delaware state flower — join a growing list of pardoned birds who get to avoid the fowl fate of ending up on someone's Thanksgiving table.
Watch | President Biden hosts annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
Join me as I pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony on the South Lawn. https://t.co/Ca54auHIgX
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 25, 2024
President Biden joked that Peach and Blossom were joined by more than 2,000 people in attendance who were also seeking a presidential pardon before he leaves office.
"This event marks the official start of the holiday season here in Washington," he said during the ceremony on the White House South Lawn. "It's also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude. So let me say to you, it's been the honor of my life. I'm forever grateful."
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The exact origins of the annual White House turkey pardon remain in dispute.
President Bill Clinton once suggested the White House turkey pardon dated back to President Harry Truman, though Truman's library in a statement said that was false. However, Truman did indicate to reporters that he'd been presented with turkeys from various groups throughout his time in office, but said those birds were destined for his family's dinner table.
Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Carter all also opted to spare some turkeys from slaughter. But it wasn't until George H.W. Bush that the formal tradition of the turkey pardon was born.
As animal rights activists picketed nearby, Bush in 1989 addressed the protestors: "Let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy — he's granted a presidential pardon as of right now — and allow him to live out his days on a children's farm not far from here," he said.
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As for Peach and Blossom, they are destined for "Farmamerica," an agricultural learning center in Minnesota not far from where they were raised.
Adding to the holiday festivities, First Lady Jill Biden is slated to receive the official White House Christmas Tree later Monday alongside military families.
