VP Vance and family watch Trump pardon turkeys in annual White House tradition

President Donald Trump, joined by Vice President JD Vance and his adorable family, pardoned two turkeys at the White House on Tuesday and joked that he was also re-pardoning the turkeys that he claimed were pardoned by an “autopen” instead of former President Joe Biden last November.

A video shared on X shows the Vance family at the annual turkey pardon ceremony.

“The turkeys being pardoned today go by the names Gobble and Waddle,” Trump said. “When I first saw their pictures…I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I realized I would never pardon those two people.”

Announcing his official pardon at the traditional White House ceremony on Tuesday, Trump addressed Gobble, saying, “Gobble, I just want to tell you this, very important, you are hereby unconditionally pardoned.”

Taking a shot at Biden, Trump explained during Tuesday’s ceremony that Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the White House Counsel’s Office have conducted a “thorough and very rigorous investigation” regarding the former president’s use of the autopen for pardons and executive actions.

“He used an autopen last year for the turkey’s pardon, so I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined, that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned other than ‘Where’s Hunter,’” Trump said.

Trump added, “The turkeys known as Peach and Blossom last year have been located, and they were on their way to be processed, in other words, to be killed, but I have stopped that journey, and I am officially pardoning them, and they will not be served as Thanksgiving dinner. We saved them in the nick of time.”

Another video shared by Fox News shows White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s son appearing alongside Waddle at a press briefing prior to Tuesday’s event. 

Pictures shared by CBS News show the president and First Lady Melania Trump at the ceremony, the president pardoning Gobble, and Vance holding his daughter next to the pardoned turkey.