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It’s become an annual White House tradition since the 1940s for the president to occasionally “pardon” a live turkey that has been marked for the First Family’s Thanksgiving dinner table. The birds are then sent to “retire” at their new home in Virginia Tech’s Gobblers Rest.
In recent years, two birds square off in an online vote for Americans to decide which one avoids the ax. President Trump is set to pardon candidates “Corn” and “Cob” on Tuesday, and the feathered competitors are currently nesting in the Willard Hotel while they await the results.
But one of President Trump’s previous turkey pardoning events has resurfaced, and it serves as a strange bit of foreshadowing to the 2020 presidential election, which the Associated Press and other outlets have called for Democratic challenger Joe Biden. President Trump and his team have not conceded the results yet, however.
In 2018, when two turkeys named “Peas” and “Carrots” were vying for the presidential pardon, Trump revealed that Peas had won the vote in “a fair and open election” — and he called out Carrots for refusing to accept the results.
“This was a fair election,” Trump said at the time. “Unfortunately, Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we’re still fighting with Carrots.” The audience can be heard laughing at the president’s remarks. Even First Lady Melania Trump smiles.
“And I will tell you, we’ve come to a conclusion: Carrots, I’m sorry to tell you, the results did not change,” Trump continued, adding, “Too bad for Carrots!”
CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski posted a clip of this on Twitter on Monday, and let’s just say many people gobbled it up.
The name “Carrots” was trending on Twitter well into Monday afternoon with more than 14,000 tweets and counting. The clip Kaczynski posted has been viewed more than 1 million times.
Some critics began calling the president “Carrots” in response, while many others marveled at how the 2018 publicity stunt now carries a sense of prophecy. After all, Trump has refused to concede the results of the 2020 presidential election, and has demanded recounts in states such as Georgia. Biden, meanwhile, has attempted to move forward in selecting his cabinet members.
Fact-checking site Snopes even posted an article verifying that the “Carrots” event actually happened.
Meanwhile, both President Trump and President-elect Biden are scaling down their Thanksgiving plans this year, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges Americans to stay home and avoid gathering with extended family to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
After Trump pardons this year’s turkeys in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, he will spend the holiday at the White House, rather than his usual feast at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Biden simply said he will keep his own celebration to just three people.
