Current:Home > ScamsBiden pardons turkeys "Liberty" and "Bell" in annual Thanksgiving ceremony-InfoLens
Biden pardons turkeys "Liberty" and "Bell" in annual Thanksgiving ceremony
View Date:2025-01-09 21:40:02
President Biden pardoned two lucky turkeys Monday to mark the 76th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony, one of the time-honored, albeit quirky, White House traditions.
"I hereby pardon Liberty and Bell! Alright," the president said, to applause. "Congratulations, birds! Congratulations."
Liberty and Bell have been staying in a room at the luxurious Willard InterContinental hotel near the White House, as is custom, and hail from Willmar, Minnesota.
"These birds have a new appreciation of the word, 'let freedom ring,'" Mr. Biden said.
This year's turkey pardon ceremony happens to fall on Mr. Biden's 81st birthday. The president doesn't have any other plans on his public schedule.
"I just want you to know it's difficult turning 60," the president joked, adding that he wasn't present for the first turkey pardoning event.
On a more serious note, the president took a moment to remember former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 96.
"This week, we'll gather with the people we love and the traditions that each of us have built up in our own families," Mr. Biden said. "We'll also think about the loved ones we've lost, including just yesterday when we lost former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who walked her own path, inspiring a nation and the world along the way. And let's remind ourselves that we're blessed to live in the greatest nation on this face of the earth."
The origin of the presidential turkey pardon ceremony is a bit murky. President Harry Truman was the first president to hold a photo-op at the White House with a turkey he received from the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board. The White House says Truman began the tradition, but that's a claim the Truman Library and Museum has disputed. It's also possible the ritual began with President Abraham Lincoln after his son urged his father to spare the bird they had planned to eat for Christmas.
This year's turkeys were sent to the White House from the Jennie-O Turkey Store, and were hatched in July.
Jennie-O says the turkeys have been "receiving the five-star treatment befitting turkeys of their stature."
Liberty and Bell will retire to a University of Minnesota farm in the Twin Cities.
Kathryn WatsonKathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (9932)
Related
- Pitchfork Music Festival to find new home after ending 19-year run in Chicago
- Video of 73-year-old boarded up inside his apartment sparks investigation
- Commanders fire coach Ron Rivera as new ownership begins making changes
- NBA commish Adam Silver talked Draymond Green out of retirement
- Burt Bacharach, composer of classic songs, will have papers donated to Library of Congress
- Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as player and coach for Germany, has died at 78
- Judge orders new North Dakota legislative district for 2 Native American tribes
- Travis Kelce Has Game-Winning Reaction When Asked the Most Famous Person in His Phone
- Brianna LaPaglia Addresses Zach Bryan's Deafening Silence After Emotional Abuse Allegations
- MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan quits rather than accept demotion at news network
Ranking
- Justine Bateman feels like she can breathe again in 'new era' after Trump win
- California inmate killed in prison yard. Two other inmates accused in the attack
- Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has withdrawn a 2018 proposal to ban mosques and the Quran
- Oakland city council members request explanation from A’s about canceled minor league game
- Why Suits' Gabriel Macht Needed Time Away From Harvey Specter After Finale
- California inmate killed in prison yard. Two other inmates accused in the attack
- California inmate killed in prison yard. Two other inmates accused in the attack
- Airlines say they found loose parts in door panels during inspections of Boeing Max 9 jets
Recommendation
-
ONA Community Introduce
-
Family-run businesses, contractors and tens of thousands of federal workers wait as Congress attempts to avoid government shutdown
-
US fugitive accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is booked into a Utah jail
-
Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has withdrawn a 2018 proposal to ban mosques and the Quran
-
Duke basketball vs Kentucky live updates: Highlights, scores, updates from Champions Classic
-
Who will win Super Bowl 58? 49ers, Ravens, Bills lead odds before playoffs begin
-
US fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in a sign of support to the country as Serbs call for secession
-
Clock ticking for Haslam family to sell stake in Pilot truck stops to Berkshire Hathaway this year