Camilla Jessen
What Trump told Melania at Thanksgiving ceremony.
A familiar mix of tradition and theatrics returned to the White House this week as Donald Trump carried out the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon.
This time, a brief exchange with Melania Trump drew attention after a lip reader analyzed the moment.
The ceremony featured two birds, Gobble and Wade, who received full presidential clemency. But it was the interaction between the president and First Lady that later sparked headlines.
A longstanding ritual
The custom of sparing a turkey has roots reaching back to Abraham Lincoln, though Reuters notes it became a yearly event only after President George H.W. Bush formalized it in 1989.
This year’s chosen pair were treated lavishly before their big day.
WAGM reported that the Willard Hotel hosted the turkeys in a $400-a-night suite. Manager Jaap Boelens joked that the birds received a red-carpet welcome and seemed to enjoy their stay.
“I noticed the mini bar was raided, and that’s totally fine,” he told the outlet.
Gobble and Wade will spend their post-pardon lives at North Carolina State University’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science, rather than ending up on anyone’s holiday table.
Politics in the speech
Trump’s remarks quickly veered into partisan territory.
He told the crowd he briefly considered naming the turkeys Chuck and Nancy, a swipe at Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, before adding that he would “never pardon those two people.”
He said he wouldn’t do so “no matter what Melania told me.”
He also credited US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying the official had certified the pair as “the first-era MAHA turkeys,” a play on the slogan “Make America Healthy Again.”
Trump joked about their size, saying they had eaten “every fattening food you can eat.”
The 7-word aside
According to the UK’s Express, professional lip reader Nicola Hickling reviewed footage of Trump and the First Lady as they walked down the steps to the ceremony.
When Melania briefly stepped aside, Hickling said Trump told her, “I’m happy to go after you.”
Hickling added that Trump kept chatting as they approached the birds, expressing surprise at their appearance.
“Wow! Okay, okay, look at that… so that’s not abnormal? … It’s normal then? How big do they get? It looks like a rather violent bird,” he remarked.
Sources: WAGM, Express, Reuters, Newsner
