A bird called Drumstick has won this year’s turkey pardon from President Trump after crushing fellow turkey Wishbone in a user poll on Twitter.
The birds were pitted against each other on the president’s favorite social media platform, with fake biographies helping inform selection. Drumstick gobbled up the votes over Wishbone, taking about 60 percent of more than 40,000 votes.
Drumstick enjoys classic rock, the band Journey and has a “tall and proud” strut style, according to his White House biography. He is 31 inches tall and weighs 47 pounds, with a wingspan of 5 feet.
Wishbone is slightly smaller, moves with a “strong shuffle” and reportedly enjoys country music and the musicians Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Both were born on June 28 in Minnesota.
“And the National Thanksgiving Turkey is… DRUMSTICK!” the White House announced in a tweet, shortly before President Trump presides over the annual meat-industry ceremony.
Press Sec. Sanders brings Wishbone, one of two turkeys vying for a presidential pardon today, to the briefing room: https://t.co/ClioMOCtuk pic.twitter.com/h2lncwzo0g
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 21, 2017
Although Drumstick takes the pardon, Wishbone, in reality, gets one too.
The pair will live out their days at Virginia Tech’s “Gobblers Rest” exhibit. Last year’s turkeys, Tater and Tot, also live at the facility. Previous industrial-farm turkeys lived short lives, routinely dying before the anniversary of their pardon.
Before the winner was declared, White House journalists stampeded toward the front of the White House briefing room upon word that one of the birds, believed to be Wishbone, was on display. The press was so thick it was hard to catch a glimpse.
“I’ve never seen people around here move so fast,” said a journalist who dashed up the basement stairs with fellow reporters.
The annual turkey pardons, light-hearted events, are often a moment of amusement for reporters.
As chortling filtered out of the press briefing room to desks nearby, journalists asked each other whether they thought a turkey had reemerged for petting. “I think the excitement is just building,” someone said with an eye-roll.
While an opportunity for puns and fun in Washington, turkey pardons are a bitter moment for some Americans seeking actual pardons, including prison inmates who watch the shows on television.
