Washington, DC [US], November 27 : US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday extended Thanksgiving greetings to Americans, posting a message that stressed gratitude for family, faith and the nation.
"Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm grateful for all of you, for the people who keep us safe, for our incredible country, and most of all for the grace of God and my beautiful family! Don't eat too much!" Vance wrote on X, adding a light-hearted reminder as people prepared for holiday meals.
Thanksgiving remains one of the biggest family holidays in the United States, marked by large gatherings, travel across states and traditional meals centred around roast turkey.
Vance's message came a day after President Donald Trump carried forward the long-standing White House tradition of pardoning two turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving, a ceremony known for its mix of humour and political undertones.
On Wednesday, Trump granted clemency to two birds named Waddle and Gobble, telling one of them, "Gobble, I just want to tell you, this is very important: you are hereby unconditionally pardoned," as the turkey responded with loud gobbling.
The annual turkey pardon spares selected birds from becoming part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, which will be celebrated across the United States on Thursday and typically features roast turkey.
The two turkeys, brought from North Carolina, stayed at The Willard Intercontinental hotel before arriving at the White House.
The quirky tradition dates back to 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln is said to have spared a turkey's life after his son became fond of the bird.
In remarks that mixed humour with political commentary, Trump opened the ceremony by claiming all turkey pardons issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, were invalid due to his use of an autopen.
He said two birds previously pardoned by Biden - Peach and Blossom - had been located just before they were due to be slaughtered. "I am officially pardoning them, and they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner," he said. "We saved them in the nick of time."
https://x.com/JDVance/status/1994040929523806678
The ceremony, which drew a substantial crowd including numerous Trump cabinet members and their families, featured several political gibes aimed at Congressional Democrats.
Trump remarked that upon seeing the turkeys, he considered naming them Chuck and Nancy, in an apparent reference to Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
"But then I realised I wouldn't be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people," Trump said, adding he would not do so "no matter what Melania told me".
Trump previously conducted the pardoning ceremony in November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and shortly after his election defeat. On that occasion, he pardoned turkeys named Corn and Cobb.
Both Waddle and Gobble will now return to their home state of North Carolina, escaping the fate of the approximately 46 million turkeys consumed across America during Thanksgiving.
The tradition extends beyond the White House, with governors in several US states holding their own turkey pardoning ceremonies. The creative naming of the birds remains one of the ceremony's most entertaining elements.