On Monday, Joe Biden continued a White House tradition and issued a presidential pardon for a pair of turkeys.
Biden issued pardons to Peach and Blossom, who were hatched in Minnesota.
During the ceremony, Biden stated, “Based on their temperament and commitment to being productive members of society, I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom.”
He added, “It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during the season and give thanks and gratitude. Let me say to you: It’s been the honor of my life.”
Watch here:
"Keep calm and gobble on."
President Biden pardons Peach and Blossom, two turkeys from Minnesota, in his final White House turkey pardon, based on their "commitment to being productive members of society." https://t.co/nVTVS5Y1hY pic.twitter.com/SugObWxBTB
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 25, 2024
"Keep calm and gobble on."
President Biden pardons Peach and Blossom, two turkeys from Minnesota, in his final White House turkey pardon, based on their "commitment to being productive members of society." pic.twitter.com/ZmZiCYZXMv
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 25, 2024
President Biden took part in his final turkey pardon Monday, sparing Minnesota's own Peach and Blossom from becoming someone's holiday dinner in an annual White House tradition. pic.twitter.com/9IWkQBWglA
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 25, 2024
Per CNN:
President Joe Biden tapped into his presidential pardon power in the waning days of his tenure Monday, granting clemency to a pair of lucky turkeys and kicking off the holiday season.
“Based on their temperament and commitment to being productive members of society, I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom,” Biden said in a ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
Weighing in at 41 and 40 pounds, respectively, “Peach” and “Blossom” were hatched in Minnesota and rode the gravy train to Washington over the weekend. They spent their young lives training for their pardon, getting acclimated to loud sounds, big crowds and bright lights.
Still, Peach ruffled some feathers and let out a few errant squawks, interrupting the president, who implored the birds to “keep calm and gobble on.”
Biden later struck a more serious tone at his fourth and final turkey pardon, reflecting on his more than half-century of public service.
“It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during the season and give thanks and gratitude. Let me say to you: It’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” he told a crowd of Cabinet members, staff and local students.
"I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom!"
President Biden participates in National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning Ceremony pic.twitter.com/JlHyUD1lNR
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 25, 2024
Check out what ABC reported:
Peach and Blossom are the two lucky turkeys from Minnesota who escaped a fowl fate of ending up on someone’s Thanksgiving table this year when they were pardoned Monday by President Biden at the White House.
ADVERTISEMENT“This event marks the official start of the holiday season here in Washington,” Biden said to what he said was a crowd of 2,500 gathered on the South Lawn. “It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude. So let me say to you, it’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful.”
“May we use this moment to take time from our busy lives and focus on what matters most: our families,” Biden said. “My dad used to have an expression, family is the beginning, the middle and the end, our friends and our neighbors. The fact that we are blessed to live in America, the greatest country on Earth — and that’s not hyperbole. We are. No matter what, in America we never give up. We keep going, we keep the faith.”
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