President Donald Trump pardoned two turkeys named Gobble and Waddle during a White House Rose Garden ceremony on November 25, 2025, continuing the long-running American Thanksgiving tradition. On a drizzly morning, the president mixed festive remarks with political jokes, and the birds were set to retire to North Carolina State University, according to the National Turkey Federation and news reports.
On a drizzly Tuesday morning, November 25, 2025, President Donald Trump held the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation in the White House Rose Garden, where he continued the modern tradition of ceremonially pardoning the presidential turkey. According to the Daily Wire, those gathered already knew which bird would be spared: First Lady Melania Trump’s office had previously asked Americans to vote by text on whether Gobble or Waddle would be the featured turkey, and Gobble was selected as the main recipient while Waddle served as the alternate.
During the ceremony, Trump focused his attention on Gobble, declaring, “Gobble, you’re pardoned!” and later adding that the turkey was “hereby unconditionally pardoned,” drawing applause from the crowd, as reported by several outlets. He joked that Waddle was “missing in action” but noted that the backup bird would also receive a presidential pardon and would step in as the National Thanksgiving Turkey if needed.
Gobble and Waddle were raised in North Carolina under the direction of the National Turkey Federation. The Daily Wire reports that the 2025 presidential flock was raised by Travis and Amanda Pittman in Wayne County, North Carolina, working with the federation’s rotating chairman and Butterball CEO Jay Jandrain. Alex Davidson, senior director of public affairs at the National Turkey Federation, told the outlet that the turkeys are selected from a flock of about 50 based on their “physical appearance and temperament” and are exposed early to lights and noise to prepare them for the national spotlight.
North Carolina was chosen as the source of this year’s birds by Jandrain, who, according to Davidson, highlighted that the state is the second-largest turkey-producing state in the country, after Minnesota. After spending several days in Washington and staying at the Willard InterContinental Hotel near the White House, the birds were scheduled to return to North Carolina. The National Turkey Federation and multiple news reports say Gobble and Waddle will live out their days at North Carolina State University’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science as “agricultural ambassadors,” joining past presidential turkeys, including Chocolate and Chip, which were pardoned in 2022.
Trump also used the occasion to talk about the cost of Thanksgiving dinner, citing data from the American Farm Bureau Federation. As noted by the Daily Wire and the Farm Bureau’s 2025 survey, turkey prices fell by about 16% from 2024, and the overall cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people was down roughly 5% compared with the previous year. The Farm Bureau attributed the overall decline largely to significant retail discounts on turkey, even as some side dishes became more expensive.
The president’s remarks featured pointed political jokes. According to the Daily Wire and other outlets, Trump said that when he saw photos of Gobble and Waddle, he considered naming them after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quipping that he “would never pardon those two people.” He also publicly called out Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, urging him to tackle crime in Chicago and adding a cutting aside about the governor’s weight before joking that he himself would not be dieting on Thanksgiving.
Trump revisited the previous year’s ceremony as well. In comments reported by the Daily Wire and conservative and international outlets, he claimed that former President Joe Biden’s 2024 turkey pardons were invalid because they had been signed with an autopen. Trump said he had therefore stepped in to “re-pardon” last year’s birds, Peach and Blossom, asserting that he had stopped them from being processed for slaughter, though that allegation has not been corroborated by independent documentation of Biden’s pardons.
The event maintained its light-hearted spirit with a pre-ceremony appearance by Waddle in the White House briefing room. The Daily Wire and photo agencies reported that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt brought Waddle to meet reporters, accompanied by her young son. Journalists shouted humorous questions at the turkey, including one about foreign policy, while Leavitt joked with the press as cameras captured the scene.
The 2025 ceremony also fit into the longer history of presidential turkey events. As summarized by the Daily Wire and historical accounts, presidents have been receiving turkeys from poultry groups since the mid-20th century. A notable early milestone came in 1947, when the National Turkey Federation presented President Harry S. Truman with a 47-pound bird as part of postwar negotiations over poultry rationing. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy reportedly remarked of one presented turkey, “We’ll just let this one grow,” a comment widely cited as an informal forerunner of modern pardons. In 1987, amid questions over the Iran-Contra affair, President Ronald Reagan joked during a press appearance with a turkey named Charlie that he would have pardoned the bird if it were not already destined for a children’s farm. The tradition of an explicit, ceremonial “pardon” in the Rose Garden is generally traced to 1989, when President George H.W. Bush formally declared that year’s bird had been granted a presidential pardon, a practice continued by his successors, including Trump.
According to the National Turkey Federation’s descriptions of the program, the turkeys used in these ceremonies are selected from the home state of the federation’s current chair and are typically Broad Breasted White birds. They are brought to Washington several days before the White House event, appear at media opportunities, and then retire to farms, universities, or agricultural facilities, where they help promote public awareness of the turkey industry and agricultural education.
