The annual presidential turkey pardon is traditionally a light-hearted ceremony that marks the Thanksgiving season—an event designed to showcase the more whimsical side of the presidency. It’s essentially the political equivalent of a soft toss, where the president gets to take a break from the weighty matters of state and indulge in a bit of festive fun.
During Barack Obama’s administration, this event became a platform for a series of dad jokes that were so delightfully cheesy they could practically be served with a side of mashed potatoes. Obama, in a display of paternal enthusiasm, would crack these cringe-worthy quips while his daughters shot him the classic “dad, please” looks, which only added to the charm of the moment.
George W. Bush also participated in the ritual of bad jokes, maintaining the event’s light-hearted spirit, even if his humor was equally groan-worthy. However, the turkey pardon under Donald Trump took a decidedly different turn, morphing from a jovial occasion into a stage for grievance and bitterness.
In a recent turkey pardon, Trump invoked the usual grievances with a flair for the dramatic. He lamented:
“Into a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden. He used an auto pen last year for the turkeys. 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 that was pardoned other than, uh, where’s Hunter?”
“No, Hunter’s was good. That was the one pardon, Pam. That was good, right? The rest of ‘em are all invalid. I don’t know what the hell you’re gonna do about that, but that’s, now we’re gonna take a little of the joking that is a mess, but they’re hereby null and void. 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, uh, they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner. Uh, we saved them in the nick of time. This one has plenty of time, but they were saved in the nick of time.”
Unless one is glued to Fox News, deciphering Trump’s remarks might be a challenge. His “joke” fell flat, lacking humor and veering into territory that could only be described as mean-spirited. Contrary to his claims, Biden’s pardons are indeed valid, and the auto-pen narrative? Purely fictional.
It seems that Trump wasn’t finished yet, hinting at more grievances to come. This year’s turkey pardon serves as a striking illustration of how a once-innocuous tradition can be twisted into a platform for political vendetta, leaving audiences wondering if the holiday spirit is still alive amidst the noise.
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