President John F. Kennedy pardoned a turkey on November 19, 1963, stating "Let's Keep him going." The official "pardoning" of White House turkeys is an interesting White House tradition that has captured the imagination of the public in recent years.

Nov 25, 2014 · Two hundred years after George Washington issued the first presidential proclamation of a day of public thanksgiving, President George H.W. Bush stepped before reporters, 30 schoolchildren and one...

Nov 22, 2024 · President Harry S. Truman has been frequently credited as being the first to pardon turkeys, but the events appear as if they were just staged photos with gifted turkeys from the National...

Nov 27, 2019 · The first president to unofficially pardon a turkey was Abraham Lincoln, who instructed the White House to save a bird given to the president. Lincoln’s son had grown fond of the bird (and the president was a big animal lover).

President Barack Obama grants the traditional turkey pardon to Liberty during the ceremony at the North Portico of the White House on November 23, 2011. Liberty was one of the few to survive more than a year after being pardoned.

Nov 28, 2024 · Presidential turkey pardons. The first turkey pardon ever issued is believed to have been by Lincoln as recorded by White House reporter Noah Brooks in an 1865 dispatch, according to the White...

Nov 25, 2024 · A lame-duck president "pardoned" a turkey Monday. "They tell me there's 2,500 people here today looking for a pardon," President Biden joked at a White House ceremony on the South Lawn.

Nov 20, 2023 · Each year, the president pardons one or two lucky gobblers for unspecified offenses, sparing them from the Thanksgiving dinner table. This year, President Biden will pardon Liberty and...

Nov 27, 2024 · President John F. Kennedy pardoned a turkey on November 19, 1963, stating "Let's Keep him going." Courtesy JFK Presidential Library. Harry Truman was the first president officially presented with a turkey.

Nov 21, 2022 · U.S. President Joe Biden pardons Peanut Butter during the 74th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation in the Rose Garden, promising Peanut Butter and his turkey pal Jelly, that instead of getting basted, they were getting boosted.