In a rambunctious Thanksgiving ceremony that was supposed to be a simple pardoning of two unusually calm turkeys, President Trump instead turned the annual ritual into a volley of barbs, nicknames, and impromptu political theater. As the birds fluffed their feathers under the bright lights, he introduced them with what he called “playful” monikers—though the quips landed more like taunts—prompting uneasy laughter from staffers and a few audible gasps from the crowd.
‘When I first saw their pictures… I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy,’ Trump recalled. ‘But then I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people.’
“These turkeys show more discipline than some people in Washington,” he added, as the birds clucked at his feet. “At least they don’t spend all day squawking like Nancy or plotting like Chuck.”
Handlers tried to steer him back to the script, but Trump waved them off, insisting the American people “deserved honesty” along with their holiday spectacle. The turkeys—reportedly named Liberty and Gravy—stood by, seemingly unfazed as Trump delivered a winding soliloquy about loyalty, courage, and what he jokingly called “the deep state of poultry.”
Screenshot
Eventually, he did pardon the birds, though by that point it was unclear whether the event would be remembered for the tradition or the tirade. As the turkeys were escorted off the stage, one reporter was overheard whispering, “They escaped—if only symbolically.”