During this year’s White House turkey pardon ceremony, President Donald Trump spared two turkeys named Gobble and Waddle, but the event quickly shifted from festive to confrontational. The birds, each weighing over 50 pounds and raised in North Carolina, will be sent to North Carolina State University for retirement.
Trump used the platform to mock Democratic leaders, joking he had considered naming the birds after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — then added, “I would never pardon those two people.” He also criticized Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, calling him a “big, fat slob,” while deriding his handling of crime in Chicago. Trump later quipped that he, too, wanted to lose a few pounds but “not on Thanksgiving.”
On the economic front, Trump claimed that Thanksgiving meal costs are dropping under his leadership, citing a study by Walmart that he said showed a 25 percent decrease — despite data from the American Farm Bureau indicating only a 5 percent reduction. The remarks come as the president faces mounting political pressure ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections, and he used this light-hearted tradition to deliver a message highlighting his priorities on crime, economy and pardons.