Trump tackles turkey-pardoning responsibilities with appropriate awe: 'That's a big bird'

President Trump pardons a turkey.

Every president has a different approach to the extremely important annual tradition of the White House turkey pardon. President Barack Obama embraced the absurdity of the ritual with dozens of extremely corny dad jokes over the years. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president, Richard Nixon, honored their turkey by shaking its hand (claw? talon?). The pardoning thing hadn't quite come around yet when President Harry Truman was in office, though, so he apparently just ate his birds.

Trump's turkey pardoning technique had yet to reveal itself as he approached Drumstick, the unfortunately-named 36-pound turkey, on Tuesday. Trump's style, though, was quickly proven to be "appropriate awe" in the face of what he repeatedly noted was "a big bird."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.