Trump Pardons His Last Turkey

President Trump has issued his first pardon since allowing the presidential transition to begin. "Corn, I grant you a full pardon," the president told a large white turkey brought to Washington, DC from Iowa for the traditional White House turkey pardon ceremony Tuesday. Corn had been chosen over another turkey, Cob, in an online poll, but both birds will be spared, CBS reports. Trump did not address his election defeat during one of his few public appearances since Nov. 3, but he spoke about progress with COVID vaccines, reports the Hill. "What we’ve endured and been able to endure with the vaccines now coming out one after another, it’s an incredible thing that happened," he said. "One of the greatest medical achievements that this planet has ever seen."

"We send our love to every member of the armed forces and the law enforcement heroes risking their lives to keep America safe, to keep America great, and as I say, America first," Trump said. "Shouldn’t go away from that. America first." The Guardian notes that in the 2018 turkey pardon ceremony, Trump joked that Carrots the turkey had refused to concede after losing the White House poll. "This was a fair election," he said. "Unfortunately, Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we’re still fighting with Carrots." He added: "We've come to a conclusion. Carrots, I'm sorry to tell you, the result did not change." (In 2017, Trump joked about overturning Barack Obama's turkey pardons.)