The White House turkey pardoning ceremony, a long-held Thanksgiving tradition formalized 77 years ago, traces its origins back decades further.
Since the 1800s, it has been customary for the sitting president to be gifted a turkey as a festive gesture, with several presidents hinting that the bird would be featured on their holiday menu.
However, in recent decades, sitting presidents launched a new tradition of “pardoning” the bird, essentially sparing its life and ensuring it will spend the remainder of its time on a farm.
The turkey is brought to Washington, D.C., during the week of Thanksgiving, gets a room at the five-star Willard Hotel and is eventually “pardoned” by the president. However, the history of exactly when the pardon began “gets tricky,” as described by the Obama White House archives.
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President George H.W. Bush participates in the presentation and pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House. (HUM Images)
According to the George Bush national archives, former President Lincoln spared the life of the Thanksgiving turkey upon request from his son, Tad Lincoln.
The White House turkey was again spared in 1947, when former President Truman began an annual tradition of the animal being gifted by the National Turkey Federation.
However, the Truman Library and Museum said they have “found no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records in our holdings which refer to Truman pardoning a turkey that he received as a gift in 1947, or at any other time during his presidency.”
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In 1963, former President Kennedy also decided to spare the life of that year’s Thanksgiving turkey, saying “we’ll just let this one grow.”
First lady Melania Trump looks on as President Trump gives the National Thanksgiving Turkey “Corn” a presidential pardon during the traditional event in the Rose Garden of the White House on Nov. 24, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla)
Former President Reagan did it informally during the ceremony in 1987. Reagan was asked by reporters about potentially pardoning individuals from the Iran-Contra affair, but he pointed at the turkey and said he would “pardon him” instead.
However, it wasn’t until 1989 when former President George H. W. Bush officially presented the turkey with a presidential “pardon,” an annual tradition that has been honored in the decades since.
“Let me assure you and this fine Tom Turkey that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy. He’s granted a presidential pardon as of right now and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here,” Bush said in 1989.
Since Bush, every president has participated in the turkey pardoning ceremony as part of the White House Thanksgiving week celebration.
President Biden has been pardoning two turkeys for the last three years. He participated in the 77th annual turkey pardon on Monday, the last one of his presidency, sparing “Peach” and “Blossom” in the Rose Garden on the South Lawn of the White House.
President Obama pardons a turkey named “Courage” at the North Portico of the White House on Nov. 25, 2009. (Alex Wong)
“This event marks the official start of the holiday season here in Washington. It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during the season,” Biden said during the ceremony. “It’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful that today my wife, Jill, and I will travel to Staten Island, New York, for a ‘friendsgiving’ with members of the Coast Guard and their families to demonstrate our gratitude for their service and sacrifice, like my son.”
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Some critics, such as animal rights group Farm Sanctuary, have called the tradition “little more than a photo op.”
However, presidents and spectators have enjoyed the ceremony as a fun event for the holidays.