Trump pardons Thanksgiving turkey

Trump pardons Thanksgiving turkey

President Trump pardoned Drumstick, the official White House turkey, from the White House's Rose Garden Tuesday afternoon in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.

"As many of you know, I have been very active in overturning some of my predecessors executive actions," Mr. Trump joked, adding that the White House counsel informed him that "Tater and Tot's pardons cannot under any circumstances be revoked."

"Tater and Tot, you can rest easy," he said.

Tater and Tot refer to the two turkeys President Obama pardoned during his last year in the White House.

Although Mr. Trump officially pardoned two turkeys, the Twittersphere chose Drumstick, rather than his feathered friend Wishbone, to be the official National Turkey.

Hard to say whether it was the "tall and proud" strut style that won over voters or his love of classic rock band Journey, but Drumstick was the clear favorite over Wishbone, more of a shuffler who's fond of country music, according to their White House profiles. In any case, both birds, which hail from Minnesota, will be pardoned and will live out the rest of their days at Virginia Tech's "Gobblers Rest" exhibit. 

While Drumstick got the pardoning spotlight in the Rose Garden, Wishbone made an appearance earlier Tuesday in the White House briefing room alongside White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Wishbone, flanked by a few members of the National Turkey Federation, ruffled his feathers and gobbled behind the briefing podium.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (L) looks on as the press gets a sneak peak at the to-be-pardoned Thanksgiving turkey, Wishbone, in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2017. / Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

There is some debate over which president began the annual turkey pardoning tradition, but President George H.W. Bush made it an official holiday event in 1989, pardoning one lucky bird.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Drumstick and Wishbone, the National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate 'wingman,' are introduced during an event hosted by The National Turkey Federation at the Williard InterContinental November 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. One of the 40-pound fowl will be presented to U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday, when he will ceremoniously 'pardon' the turkey. Both of the 20-week-old birds will then reside at their new home, 'Gobbler's Rest,' at Virginia Tech. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
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