President Donald Trump, who’s rumored to be considering pardons for a handful of humans before he leaves office, extended the executive reprieve to a turkey at the White House on Tuesday.
Playing along with the decades-old Thanksgiving tradition, Trump pardoned an Iowa-bred turkey named Corn, who will now live out its life at a university in the Hawkeye State.
“Look at that beautiful, beautiful bird,” Trump said in the Rose Garden. “So lucky, that is a lucky bird.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump then walked over to Corn, who was standing with its owner a few feet away.
“Corn, I hereby grant you a full pardon,” Trump said, holding his hand over the meaty bird. “Thank you, Corn.”
Reporters shouted questions at Trump — including whether he’s considering a pardon for himself before he loses his presidential immunity on Jan. 20 — but he left the Rose Garden without answering.
Before he got to talking turkey in the Rose Garden, Trump appeared to wax a bit nostalgic about his presidency.
“We send our love to every member of the armed forces and the law enforcement heroes risking their lives to keep America safe, to keep America great and, as I say, America first, shouldn’t go away from that — America first,” Trump said, referring to his loosely defined presidential agenda.
Trump has yet to concede the election to Joe Biden.
However, on Monday, Trump finally gave Biden permission to start his presidential transition process after prolonging the inevitable for 16 days, citing accusations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
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