President Trump grants presidential pardon to Mr. Gobble and Mr. Waddle
President Donald Trump granted the traditional presidential turkey pardon to two birds, Gobble and Waddle.
WASHINGTON – Presidential turkey pardons are usually a light-hearted holiday event filled with poultry puns before Thanksgiving.
But President Donald Trump took a different turn on Gobble & Waddle’s pardon on Nov. 25, using remarks from the White House Rose Garden to target his Democratic opponents, former President Joe Biden and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat man,” Trump said, slamming state and local opposition to his efforts to send the National Guard to Chicago. “He should invite us and say, ‘Make Chicago safe.'”
Trump later teased that there was a “Pritzker joke” in his prepared remarks, but he decided to leave it out because talking about the governor would enrage him.
“I’m not going to make a Pritzker joke,” Trump said. “There’s a really cute little joke. A speechwriter wrote a joke about his weight. I never want to talk about his weight. I don’t talk about people being fat. I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s fat and sloppy. I don’t bring it up.”
The president added, “By the way, I’d also like to lose a few pounds.”
The Trump administration sent National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon and Chicago last month as part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and crime in Democratic-led cities. But the Pentagon withdrew the troops last week following a pending lawsuit challenging their deployment.
In his turkey pardon remarks, President Trump said Chicago could become like Washington, D.C., and praised efforts to deploy the National Guard to the nation’s capital to curb crime. The president then made the completely false claim that Washington, D.C. went from having one or two murders a week to zero in six months.
According to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, the number of homicides in 2025 is down 29% from 2024, but there were still 123 homicides this year. Just last week, D.C. police announced an investigation into a fatal shooting that occurred on November 19th.
President Trump says he re-pardoned Biden’s turkey because of autopen
President Trump began his speech with a jab at “a sleepy guy named Joe Biden.” President Trump said he ruled that Biden’s pardon for Peach and Blossom turkeys last year was “totally invalid” because Biden used an autopen.
So is the pardon of almost everyone pardoned except for “Where’s the Hunter?” Mr. Trump said. Republicans argue that Biden’s pardon should be thrown out because former President Biden used a signature device to sign the pardon document.
President Trump said he re-pardoned Biden’s turkeys to prevent birds from being killed and eaten on Thanksgiving. “We saved them in the nick of time,” Trump said.
This year’s turkey pardon marked the 78th year of this tradition, which has continued through 15 consecutive administrations.
Trump also used his remarks to tout the accomplishments of his first year in office, including efforts to end several international conflicts. He also asserted that the administration is “making incredible progress in making America affordable again” as Americans continue to express concerns about inflation and the economy.
President Trump said he is considering naming two 50-pound turkeys pardoned this year, Gobble and Waddle, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy,” the president said. “But then I realized I’m not going to forgive them. I’ll never forgive those two. I won’t forgive them. I don’t care what Melania said to me. ‘Darling, I think that’s a good thing.’
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
