US President Donald Trump on Tuesday upheld the long-standing White House Thanksgiving tradition by pardoning two North Carolina–raised turkeys, “Gobble” and “Waddle,” though only one made an appearance at the Rose Garden ceremony.
“Gobble, I just want to tell you this — very important — you are hereby unconditionally pardoned,” Trump declared, drawing applause before reaching out to gently pat the bird. Both turkeys, whose names were selected through an online public poll, were raised and provided by the National Turkey Federation. They will return to North Carolina to live under the care of the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
But the light-hearted ceremony veered sharply into politics as Trump used the occasion to target Democratic leaders and even critique his predecessor.
.@POTUS: "Gobble, I just want to tell you this — very important — you are hereby unconditionally pardoned!"Related stories
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 25, 2025
Trump joked that he had initially considered naming the turkeys after Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer. “When I first saw their pictures, I thought we should send them, well I shouldn't say this -- I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I realized I wouldn't be pardoning them, I would never pardon those two people,” he said.
The president also took aim at President Joe Biden, suggesting last year’s turkey pardon was not legitimate. Trump claimed Biden had used an autopen for the ceremony, asserting it made the pardons “totally invalid.” He went on to joke that “Peach” and “Blossom,” the 2023 pardoned turkeys, were now “on their way to be processed,” adding he was “officially pardoning them along with this year’s birds.”
Trump then broadened his remarks to attack Democratic governance, criticizing crime in Chicago and lashing out at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. While praising National Guard deployments in Washington, D.C., he complained he had been blocked from doing the same in Chicago.
“Gov Pritzker, if you’re listening, let’s get your act together,” Trump said, calling the governor a “big fat slob.” He added, “I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob. I don’t mention it,” before quipping that he, too, “would like to lose a few pounds.”
The turkey pardoning tradition traces its modern roots to 1989, when President George H.W. Bush formally established the practice, though earlier presidents — including John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan — had also spared turkeys during their administrations.
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