Tag: who was the first president to receive a ceremonial thanksgiving turkey?

Presidential Turkey Pardon: The Strange History of a White House Thanksgiving Tradition

Every November, shortly before Thanksgiving, an unusually fortunate turkey arrives at the White House. There are cameras. There are speeches. There are usually jokes. And at some point, the president announces that the bird has been “pardoned,” sparing it from an imagined fate as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner. It feels like the sort of …

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