US President Donald Trump did not bring much holiday cheer Tuesday when bestowing ceremonial pardons on two Thanksgiving turkeys, dispensing more insults than goodwill at the traditional White House ritual.
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He joked about sending the turkeys to an infamous prison in El Salvador that has been used to house migrants deported from the United States. He said the birds should be named Chuck and Nancy – after Democratic stalwarts Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi – but “I would never pardon those people.”
Trump claimed that last year’s turkey pardons, issued by US President Joe Biden, were invalid because he used an autopen. “Where’s Hunter?” he said, suggesting that his predecessor’s son could once again face legal jeopardy.
And all of that was before Trump turned his attention to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat who has resisted the White House’s plans to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.
Trump said he had a joke prepared about Pritzker, but “I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob. I don’t mention it”.
Scattered laughter rippled through the audience, which sat under cloudy skies and an intermittent drizzle on the Rose Garden patio.