Biden Pardons Turkeys In Annual Thanksgiving Tradition

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US President Joe Biden pardons Peach, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, alongside Chair of the National Turkey Federation John Zimmerman and his son Grant during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 25, 2024. The sparing of the wattle adorned gobbling poultry became tradition in 1989 when US President George HW Bush said, “But 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 every US President since then has continued the act of mercy. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
10:47 AM – Monday, November 25, 2024

President Joe Biden saved two turkeys from being on a family’s dinner table on Monday morning.

It was Biden’s final turkey pardon from the White House as president, pardoning Peach and Blossom, who come from Minnesota and are around 17 weeks old, according to the National Turkey Federation press conference Sunday.

The two names were given as an homage to Biden’s home state of Delaware and its state flower, the peach blossom.

“Peach blossom flower also symbolizes resilience, which is quite frankly fitting for today,” Biden said during the pardon ceremony.

The 82-year-old president began the ceremony by telling a joke to the crowd that were there to witness the pardoning of the two big birds.

“They tell me there’s 2,500 people here today…looking for a pardon,” Biden joked.

The federation’s president John Zimmerman and his nine-year-old son, Grant, raised the birds and introduced them Sunday.

As Biden was about to pardon Peach, the turkey gobbled from the stage with all eyes on it.

“What did you say, Peach?” the president asked.

“Peach is making a last-minute plea here,” he told the crowd.

The president told the crowd that Peach weighs around 41 pounds, loves to eat a hot dish topped with tater tots, and lives by the motto “keep calm and gobble on.”

Meanwhile, Blossom’s goal is to do a road trip to all 10,000 Minnesota lakes, and live by the motto, “no ‘fowl’ play.”

The two turkeys spent Sunday night before the pardon staying in a luxurious suite at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, the National Turkey Federation posted photos of the pair of feathered animals in the hotel and even a “Get Ready With Us” video of the two arriving at their nice accommodations.

President Harry Truman is known for starting the tradition of turkey pardons 77 years ago in 1947, when the National Turkey Federation presented him with a turkey that he spared from the dinner table.

According to the National Turkey Federation, after the pardons the two turkeys will become agricultural ambassadors and enjoy retirement on a farm in Minnesota.

“Maybe they’ll go to a Minnesota hockey game or a football game, but their home base will be in Waseca, Minnesota,” Zimmerman said. “But if the need arises, they’re willing to travel.”

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