Thanksgiving: Why US Presidents Pardon Turkeys

A few days before Thanksgiving, US President Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys at an official ceremony. The 19-pound animals from the state of Minnesota that Biden saved from death on Monday on the south lawn of the White House are called Liberty and Bell. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is a symbol of American independence.

With his act of mercy on the occasion of American Thanksgiving next Thursday, Biden followed a tradition that is said to have roots that are more than 150 years old. American families traditionally eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and since the 19th century a particularly magnificent specimen has been presented to the president before the holiday. According to popular belief, the first resident of the White House to save one of these feathered birds from ending up on the plates of the First Family was Abraham Lincoln, who ruled the United States from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln’s young son is said to have asked his father to spare the turkey.

Since 1947, the National Turkey Foundation has been the official turkey supplier to the President. The public presentation ceremony has been around since Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States from 1945 to 1953. Truman was the first to accept a turkey from the turkey industry representative – but he didn’t save it from the roaster.

Turkey pardons on Thanksgiving have been an established ritual since 1989

The first documented pardon of a turkey was by John F. Kennedy in 1963. However, his later successors Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford preferred to eat the animals again. It was only under George Bush senior in 1989 that the turkey amnesty finally became a permanent ritual for the US presidents.

The statesmen like to use the ceremony for funny political jibes or self-irony. Biden, who also celebrated his 81st birthday on Monday, joked with a view to thisn dude, this is the 76th time turkeys have been pardoned by the president. “I want you to know that I wasn’t there the first time.”

Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump mocked the impeachment trial against him in 2019 by saying the turkeys “have already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff’s basement.” The Democrat was then chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and one of the driving forces behind the impeachment effort.

Barack Obama quipped in 2014 that the pardon was the “most talked-about executive order” of the month but was “fully within my authority.” The president was alluding to his dispute with the Republicans in the US Congress, who accused him of exceeding his authority by going it alone on immigration policy.

Liberty and Bell had already arrived in Washington at the weekend and, unbelievably, were staying in a luxury hotel, the Willard InterContinental. The posh accommodation is just a few steps from the White House and has served as a hostel for those seeking pardon for more than a decade. The animals also took part in a press conference at the hotel on Sunday where their names were officially announced.

“They checked in, went to their rooms, looked at the city map, took a bubble bath, and I heard that they also drank something from the minibar,” US broadcaster CNN quoted the hotel’s general manager, Markus Platzer, as saying .

According to NTF boss Steve Lykken, Liberty and Bell will be allowed to spend their lives after the pardon in their home state and retire at the Faculty of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Minnesota. “I know they will be cared for by the experts at the highest level and will be able to enjoy their time,” assured Lykken.