Trump jokes about impeachment probe at annual turkey pardon
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[November 27, 2019]
By Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump on Tuesday used the high power of his office to pardon "Butter," a
47 pound (21 kg) turkey, during a U.S. tradition at the White House
where he also cracked jokes about Democrats' investigation into whether
he should be impeached.
Both Butter and his alternate "Bread" escaped the fate of becoming the
main course of a Thanksgiving feast and were sent to a special reserve
in Virginia.
Standing at a podium in the Rose Garden, Trump said the birds had been
raised to remain calm under "any condition."
"Which will be very important because they've already received subpoenas
to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday," he joked, referring to
the House of Representatives intelligence committee chairman who has led
the inquiry into whether Trump should be impeached for pressing Ukraine
to investigate a political rival of his.
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"It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. But
Bread and Butter, I should note, that, unlike previous witnesses, you
and I have actually met."
While other presidents occasionally gave turkeys commutations starting
with Abraham Lincoln, another Republican president, George H. W. Bush,
was the first to make sparing one an official act, according to the
non-profit Constitution Center. Trump's predecessor, Democrat Barack
Obama, is credited with starting the tradition of cracking "dad jokes"
at the pardon.
The threat of impeachment may be looming larger each day, with Democrats
expected to release a crucial report after Thanksgiving, but it did not
stop the White House from reveling this week in the somewhat goofy
pardoning tradition.
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![](../images/112719pics/news_h21.jpg)
President Donald Trump pardons one of the 72nd National Thanksgiving
Turkeys as first lady Melania Trump looks on during turkey pardoning
ceremonies in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington,
U.S., November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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It posted videos of the turkeys checking into a special suite at the
Willard Hotel, where political leaders have stayed in the past, and
baseball card-like statistics on both Bread and Butter.
The National Turkey Federation introduced the birds in a press
conference on Tuesday. In true Washington fashion, polling decided
which turkey would receive the official pardon, with Americans
sharing their preference for Butter on Twitter.
According to the White House, Butter enjoys listening to bagpipes
and has a gobble style that is "rowdy." Bread prefers Bluegrass
music and wants to master aerial yoga.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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