Trump participates in annual Turkey Pardon as Biden’s transition officially begins

Washington – President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Tuesday with the traditional National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon. The event marked the first time Mr. Trump had been in public since the General Service Administration told President-elect Joe Biden it was ready to begin the formal transition process.

Mr. Trump exercised his power of forgiveness at a Rose Garden event, granting the turkey named “Corn” full grace. The other turkey, Cob, will live too.

“Maize, I hereby grant you complete forgiveness!” Mr. Trump said, forgiving the turkey.

Mr. Trump, who has not answered reporters’ questions since polling day, did not respond to questions shouted after the pardon. Ahead of the turkey’s forgiveness, Mr Trump called this time “very unusual but in many ways very, very good,” saying the nation can thank the advances in vaccines.

“We give thanks for the invaluable freedoms we have inherited and we ask God to watch and protect our nation,” said the outgoing president.

The two birds, who made the trip from Iowa to Washington, DC, for Tuesday’s event, are expected to live out the rest of their lives at Iowa State University. Corn and Cob was bred by Ron Kardel, President of the National Federation of Turkey and sixth generation farmer from Walcott, Iowa.

Turkey’s annual forgiveness, which dates back to President George HW Bush, comes after GSA administrator Emily Murphy sent a letter to Mr Biden on Monday who called him the “apparent” winner of the presidential contest. Known as the Confirmation Letter, the statement kicks off the formal transition process and gives Mr. Biden and his team access to $ 6.3 million, federal agencies, government staff and facilities.

Mr. Trump, however, has vowed not to concede and continues to claim without evidence that the election was rigged. The president rarely appeared in public in the three weeks following the election, and when he attended events at the White House, he did not answer questions from reporters.

Despite the president’s reluctance to admit defeat, states certify their election results, with Michigan doing so on Monday and Pennsylvania. certify its results Tuesday. Nevada is also expected to certify its results on Tuesday.