- President Donald Trump pardoned two turkeys on Tuesday, Gobble and Waddle, sparing them from Thanksgiving dinner tables.
- The two birds will now live out their days at North Carolina State University's agricultural college.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pardoned two giant white-plumed turkeys named "Gobble" and "Waddle" on Tuesday, sparing them from Thanksgiving dinner tables and adding to the more than 1,600 pardons he has granted this term.
The birds, weighing more than 50 pounds each, were raised on a farm in North Carolina and spent the night before the ceremony in beds at the upscale Willard InterContinental Hotel near the White House.
US President Trump participated in the annual White House tradition of pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys, granting clemency to Gobble and Waddle https://t.co/q4rJpBTIlUpic.twitter.com/UPWVFgFtJr
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 25, 2025
Taking part in an annual tradition begun by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1989, Trump joked that he initially wanted to rename the birds "Chuck" and "Nancy," an apparent reference to foes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats.
"But then I realized I wouldn't be pardoning them," Trump said at the Rose Garden event. "I would never pardon those two people."
In his second term, Trump has issued pardons to, among others, allies in his bid to overturn his 2020 election loss and about 1,500 people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
As cost-of-living concerns dominate news headlines ahead of next year's midterm elections, Trump reiterated that this year's Thanksgiving meal would be more affordable for Americans.
He cited a Walmart study that found a 25% drop in the meal's expense over last year, but made cost-saving substitutions to the menu. The annual American Farm Bureau Federation survey last week put the savings at 5% for a total of $55.18.
Trump also re-pardoned Peach and Blossom, the turkeys given a pass by former President Joe Biden last year. In an ongoing attack, Trump claimed without basis that those pardons were invalid because his Democratic predecessor used an automated signing device.
The two birds pardoned on Tuesday will live out their days at North Carolina State University's agriculture college, according to the National Turkey Federation.
Contributing: Katharine Jackson
