President Joe Biden pardoned the official Thanksgiving turkeys on Monday — and in the method made a series of “Dad” jokes on the expense of Republicans for falling well wanting expectations within the midterm elections.
“The votes are in. They have been counted and verified. There’s been no ballot stuffing; there’s been no fowl play,” Biden punned on the White House as he granted presidential reprieves to the turkeys, named Chocolate and Chip.
“The one red wave this season might be if our German shepherd Commander knocks over the cranberry sauce at our table,” the Democratic president quipped.
Chocolate and Chip are guaranteed to not be eaten this holiday season on account of what have turn out to be traditional annual presidential pardons for would-be Thanksgiving principal courses.
The birds will live out their days back of their home state, on the University of North Carolina.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey, within the annual ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 21, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper attended the pardon ceremony, together with Brookland Middle School students, members of the National Turkey Federation, and agricultural stakeholders.
Biden’s dog Commander looked on from the White House balcony and barked periodically throughout the event, where Chip was tired of joining Chocolate on the table and trotted behind Biden because the president spoke. Underscoring the comic nature of the proceedings, a version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic rock anthem “Free Bird” was played.
The tradition of officially receiving a Thanksgiving turkey dates to President Harry Truman in 1947.
But presidents have been gifted turkeys because the 1870s, in response to the White House Historical Association.
President George H. W. Bush is credited with allotting the primary official executive clemency for a turkey when he joked to animal rights activists in 1989 that the bird that yr was getting a “presidential pardon.”
While presidents from Bush onward have used the pardon event as an excuse to make cringe-inducing jokes, many Americans could also be blanching on the rising cost of turkeys — and the remainder of the meal fixings — this Thanksgiving season.
Thanksgiving dinner in 2022 is predicted to cost 20% greater than last yr for the typical American family consequently of inflation, in response to data from the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The group’s annual survey found the typical cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is $64.05, in comparison with $53.31 in 2021.
The value of a 16-pound turkey on average this yr is $28.96, or $5 greater than in 2021 — a 21% increase. In 2020, a turkey cost $9.57 lower than in 2022, on average.
The Farm Bureau Federation’s survey found that the most important price hike was for stuffing mix: a 14-ounce bag of stuffing this yr costs $3.88 on average, up a whopping 69% from a yr ago.
