{"id":132358,"date":"2021-11-21T22:58:23","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T06:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132358"},"modified":"2021-11-21T22:58:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T06:58:23","slug":"president-biden-at-pardoning-of-the-national-thanksgiving-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132358","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at Pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;.Good afternoon, everyone.  Please be seated.  I\u2019m honored to welcome you, for the first time as President, to a Thanksgiving tradition here at the White House that reminds us to have a little bit of fun and to always be grateful.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MvxANBmS-Ts\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You know, as a University of Delaware man, I\u2019m partial to Blue Hens, but today we\u2019re going to talk turkey.<\/p>\n<p>To the families of my staff, thank you for joining us, for being part of our team.<\/p>\n<p>And thank you, Pete [Phil] Seger, Chairman of the National Turkey Federation, for continuing the tradition of presenting the turkey to the President that goes back to President Truman.<\/p>\n<p>(Turkeys gobble.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  (Laughter.)  Yes.  And pardoning the turkey goes back to George H.W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p>I just met your wonderful family: Your wife, Krista, who volunteers to get kids vaccinated back home in Jasper \u2014 thank you very much for doing that; and your incredible children \u2014 12-year-old Addie and 10-year-old Ellie and 9-year-old Jack.<\/p>\n<p>And Addie and Ellie, I tell you, if you \u2014 your parents will understand \u2014 the reason I ran for President is so my grandchildren your age could have Secret Service protection \u2014 because you\u2019re lovely young women and young man.<\/p>\n<p>Look, and a special thanks to the students at Ellie and Jack\u2019s school in Jasper who submitted the names of these two fine turkeys \u2014 two names that I couldn\u2019t agree on more.  Who better to help celebrate the holiday in which we break the bread for two turkeys named Peanut Butter and Jelly?<\/p>\n<p>I have to admit to you \u2014 my wife doesn\u2019t like to admit it \u2014 that\u2019s what I like for lunch: peanut butter and jelly. <\/p>\n<p>But I also want to thank the farmers who were selected by the National Turkey Federation to raise what\u2019s called the \u201cPresidential Flock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a group of 20 or so turkeys vying to make it here today.  In other words, the turkey presidential primary.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And so, I just met Andrea and Brad Welp, third- and fifth-generation farmers from St. Anthony, Indiana.  And they\u2019re here with their 5-year-old son, Benton, and their 2-year-old daughter, Brogan, who wonders, \u201cWhy do I have to be here, Mommy?\u201d  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Since July \u2014 since July, they\u2019ve been preparing the flock for this day.  And I\u2019m told the turkeys even listen to music to get used to the crowd noise.  And they\u2019ve interacted with children and visitors to get used to the \u2014 their visit to Washington.<\/p>\n<p>And eventually, Peanut Butter and Jelly were selected<br \/>\nbased on their temperament, appearance, and, I suspect, vaccination status.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>(Turkeys gobble.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, you see?  (Laughter.)  Yes, instead of getting basted, these two turkeys are getting boosted.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>(Turkeys gobble.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Yeah.  (Laughter.)  I love them talking to me like this. <\/p>\n<p>This week, they were welcomed on the red carpet at a fancy hotel here in Washington called the Willard Hotel, next door.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary Buttigieg couldn\u2019t be here today, but I\u2019m sorry for Pete and Chasten: Peanut Butter and Jelly are now the new Indiana power couple.<\/p>\n<p>And Andrea and Brad, thank you for pouring your love and pride into this work and this national tradition.  And Benton and Brogan, I know you\u2019re going to miss your favorite turkeys, but the good news is you\u2019ll still be able to visit them.<\/p>\n<p>After receiving their presidential pardon, Peanut Butter and Jelly will be headed to Purdue University West Lafayette \u2014 in West Lafayette, Indiana, where they\u2019ll be \u2014 visit something close to my heart \u2013- a train: the Boilermaker Special.  That\u2019s where they\u2019re going to be. <\/p>\n<p>So fer- \u2014 folks, turkey is infrastructure.  Peanut Butter and Jelly are going to help Build Back the Butterball as we move along.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And so, I hereby \u2014 I\u2019m going to walk over.  I\u2019m going to pardon this year\u2019s turkey \u2014 the national Thanksgiving turkey.  And the first one \u2014 the one who is going to pardoned is Peanut Butter, who should be able to uphold his duties.  And also hereby, I\u2019m going to \u2014 in case that changes, I\u2019m going to also pardon his alternative, Jelly.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, as I\u2019ve said before, every American wants the same thing: They want to be able to look the turkey in the eye and tell him everything\u2019s going to be okay.  (Laughter.)  And so, folks, it\u2019s going to be okay.<\/p>\n<p>In all seriousness, it\u2019s important to continue traditions like this to remind us how from darkness there is light and hope and progress.  And that\u2019s what this year\u2019s Thanksgiving, in my view, represents.<\/p>\n<p>So many of us will be gathering with our loved ones for the first time in a long time, and we\u2019ll be reconnecting with traditions, with our tables and our hearts full of grace and gratitude for everyone who made it possible:<\/p>\n<p>The scientists, researchers, doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers who developed and administered the vaccines and kept essential services going.<\/p>\n<p>Faith leaders and community leaders who counsel, comfort, and heal.<\/p>\n<p>Farmers, farmworkers, meatpackers who risked their lives during this pandemic to grow, process, and pick the food that\u2019s on our tables.<\/p>\n<p>And on Monday, my wife Jill and I will be traveling to Fort Bragg in North Carolina for an early Thanksgiving with the troops and their military families.  We\u2019ll be able to show the nation\u2019s gratitude for their service and sacrifice and welcome those coming home after 20 years in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>But, folks, as we give thanks for what \u2014 we also keep in our hearts those who we have lost \u2014 have lost so much, those who will have empty seats at their tables this year because of the virus or another cruel twist of fate or accident.<\/p>\n<p>The grief they have is \u2014 there is a lot of grief that\u2019s deep, that tears at the hearts afresh on every holiday.  We pray for them to find the strength in sorrow and purpose in pain.<\/p>\n<p>And as we reclaim our cherished traditions, let\u2019s commit ourselves to what the Psalmist wrote \u2014 said, \u201cThe Lord is my strength and my shield\u2026and with my song I give Him thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let our song be one of lives saved, breaches repaired, a nation made whole.  And that\u2019s the America I know: a great nation because we are good people.<\/p>\n<p>You, the American people, I forever am grateful for your trust you placed in me.<\/p>\n<p>And from the Biden family to yours, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>And may bless \u2014 God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops. <\/p>\n<p>And may \u2014 let\u2019s get to the business of the pardon.  Thank you.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a big turkey.  With the power vested in me as President of the United States, I pardon you.  I pardon you this Thanksgiving. <\/p>\n<p>Go ahead, say something.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>(Turkeys gobble.)<\/p>\n<p>There you go.  (Laughter.)  \u201cThanks for the pardon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But I also have to pardon \u2014 I have to pardon Jelly too.<\/p>\n<p>Jelly, you don\u2019t have to get up here, but I pardon you, kid.  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, everybody.  I hope you have a happy, happy, happy Thanksgiving.  And it\u2019s freezing, isn\u2019t it?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>All right.  Thank you all.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;.Good afternoon, everyone. Please be seated. I\u2019m honored to welcome you, for the first time as President, to a Thanksgiving tradition here at the White House that reminds us to have a little bit of fun and to always be grateful. You know, as a University of Delaware man, I\u2019m partial to Blue Hens, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Fullscreen-capture-11212021-104950-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132360,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132358\/revisions\/132360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/132359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}