WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden participated in the annual White House Thanksgiving tradition of the turkey pardon, granting clemency to two fortunate birds named Liberty and Bell. The light-hearted ceremony offered a brief respite from the weighty global challenges facing the administration.

Biden, accompanied by an audience of children and others, beamed as he spared the turkeys from their Thanksgiving fate. “I hereby pardon Liberty and Bell. Congratulations, birds,” the president declared during the event, sprinkled with poultry puns and expressions of gratitude for the start of the holiday season.

The cost of the Thanksgiving feast this year has seen a 4.5% decrease from last year, a welcome relief from inflation, according to the American Farm Bureau’s annual survey. As the annual tradition of turkey pardoning continues, folklore suggests that rumors of such pardons date back to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

The National Turkey Foundation, which has been supplying the first family with turkeys since 1947, is responsible for the formal turkey presentation ceremony. The ritual of turkey pardoning, however, was first documented in 1963 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy, and has since become a beloved tradition during the White House holiday season.

The turkeys spared by Biden, named Liberty and Bell, were hatched in July and raised in Minnesota. They made their journey to the nation’s capital this week in a “makeshift pen” in a stretch Cadillac Escalade, guided by experienced drivers from their flock. Following the ceremony, the pardoned turkeys will return to their home state, retiring to the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences.

In conclusion, President Joe Biden continued the time-honored tradition of the turkey pardon at the White House, sparing two turkeys named Liberty and Bell from the Thanksgiving dinner table. The annual ceremony, filled with jokes and expressions of gratitude, offers a brief moment of levity during the holiday season. With the cost of the average meal down from last year, the event provided a welcomed relief from inflation, making for a festive start to the holiday season.