CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS Abraham Lincoln is said to be the first President to pardon a White House turkey, and it was made an annual tradition during the Reagan years.
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This year marks the 68th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.
With daughters Malia and Sasha at his side, Obama declared that “Abe is now a free bird” and will now be designated “TOTUS – the Turkey of the United States”.
“I’ve got to listen to my critics say I’m often too soft on turkeys”, Obama said.
Pollack said a parent in her classroom who works for Foster Farms told her about the contest, and students started brainstorming earlier this month. The American public was given the chance to cast ballots to decide which bird, Honest or Abe, won the title.
President Ronald Reagan was the first US president to use the word “pardon” in connection with a turkey – which was in reference to the-then brewing Iran-Contra scandal where figures such as Ollie North were likewise hoping for a presidential pardon. During a White House news conference both leaders urged the global community to devote more resources to fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS. “To evaluate and re-evaluate what we see”, he said.
Obama’s statement also suggested some Guantanamo provisions in the defense bill might violate the Constitution.
“They do this exclusively because it makes me feel good”.
President Obama has taken the silly tradition of pardoning turkeys and used it to remind us all about the plight of our homeless veterans and of the importance of helping others in need.
“Time flies”, he said.
“Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland”, the president said from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, shortly after concluding a routine security briefing with Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Calling the November 13 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s terrorist attacks on Paris “horrific and heinous”, Obama said those events, which killed 130 people from 20 nations and wounded more than 350 others, ” touched a deep chord” for Americans.
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Only one turkey was chosen to be the National Thanksgiving Turkey, but both won in the end, they’ll spend the rest of their days living peacefully on a farm in Virginia.
