WASHINGTON – It could have been the ever-awaited Turkey House pardon ceremony.
First, President Trump has been barely seen without golf clubs since election day. So the annual ritual of sparing the two turkeys offered a rare opportunity for a public insight into the lame duck leader.
“Thanksgiving is a very special day for turkeys,” the president said Tuesday afternoon at the Rose Garden. – It’s not very good to think about. Except for the president’s two big lucky feathered recipients.
It was an almost normal feeling, refreshingly pro forma. With enthusiasm for the stunt, Mr. Trump has always appeared in his element on these cornball occasions, no matter what other turmoil has occurred in his presidency.
But Mr. Trump’s recent attraction has also given the festivities a degree of Groundhog Day drama: Will the president of Punxsutawney make a light and conciliatory tone, signaling a mild period of transition to the Biden government? Or would you continue the defiant and delighted posture he presented in more than 550 tweets released since Nov. 3, securing several troubling weeks for the presidency in the dark winter?
The clutch flooded the tradition of the hokey White House with real theatrical plays – as enjoyed by the master of ceremonies. There has been a stir in the days that the president can bring inflammatory news by pardoning people like Paul Manafort (former campaign president, convicted of tax and bank fraud) and his innocent, feathered friends, Corn and Cob (imported from Iowa, £ 42 and £ 41) . , With 35 and 34 inch wingspan).
If nothing else, the sight offered refreshment in attacking Mr. Trump’s daily challenges, as well as a carefully announced announcement by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s new cabinet officials — several of whom introduced themselves in Wilmington, Del., When the president and first lady, Melania Trump at about 2:30 p.m., they headed for the Rose Garden.
The president began by announcing again that the Dow Jones industry average had broken 30,000 for the first time. (He first announced an hour and a half earlier in his White House briefing during a barely one-minute appearance.) Although the market seemed to be responding to the government service’s decision Monday night that the move to Biden could officially begin, Mr. Trump wrapped himself in the news.
“I just want to congratulate everyone,” Trump said, throwing himself back into the pre-election days as he began to brag constantly about the stock market’s performance, as if offering a running account of his performance in his office.
Voters have since handed down tougher sentences. Recent weeks have been difficult in every way for a president whose self-determination as a “winner” has been marred by battering the courtroom defeats, a growing lack of votes, and the scattered abandonment of former Republican allies.
At least the tradition of the White House turkey offered the comfort of a ritual. It was started by President Truman in 1947, although President Kennedy was the first to spare the honorable bird. President Bush was the first to formally use the word “grace” in 1989.
Mr. Trump wore a navy blue overcoat and a bright red tie in the late November afternoon cold. He made no mention of the election or the president-elect. He seemed slightly restrained, but mostly decent.
He called this “very unusual time,” which seemed pretty apt.
“We are here to continue the beloved annual tradition,” the president said, introducing the highlighted, feathered part of the ceremony.
He mentioned that Cornot and Cobot had been selected from a presidential staff that contained some “true beauty” and noted that they were from Iowa.
“I love the state of Iowa,” Mr. Trump said, anointing the home of the butterballs. (Supposedly considering a return campaign in 2024.)
“We love our farmers,” he added with good deliberation.
A few minutes later, the President and the first lady stepped out from behind the podium in the Rose Garden and approached the guest of honor.
“Look at that beautiful, beautiful bird,” Mr. Trump wondered as he gestured toward Corn, a few feet away. (Cob was not immediately visible to onlookers.)
“Oh, it’s a lucky bird,” he continued. “Wow.”
“Thank you, Corn,” Mr. Trump said, briefly placing his forgiving hand on the beneficiary’s rich white pen.
The president and the first lady waved to the friendly crowd as they left Corn, who was farming a short pan gobble at the moment.
Mr. Trump flashed the cameras a great flash and did not answer two of the journalists’ exclaimed questions: one called on whether he could invite Mr. Biden to visit the White House, and the other on whether he could soon pardon himself.
At the same event last year, the president said, “I hope this grace will be very popular with the media. After all, turkeys are closely related to vultures. “
In other words, Mr. Trump likened reporters to vultures.
