Nov. 25 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, on Tuesday continued a White House tradition that dates to the 1800s -- pardoning a turkey from the dinner table ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
This year's turkeys, named Gobble and Waddle, were given "full, absolute and unconditional" pardons by Trump during the midday ceremony in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden.
"This is a lucky day for them," Trump said while welcoming members of his administration and a handful of business leaders to the pardoning, noting that in years past their feet would be stuck in mud during the annual act of mercy before the garden was updated this year.
The annual pardon dates back more than 100 years, but it gained steam as a traditional White House event when the National Turkey Federation first presented a live turkey to President Harry Truman in 1947.
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