These are Gobble and Waddle, the turkeys Donald Trump will pardon in 2025: How much do they weigh?

“Gobble, gobble, gobble”, exclaimed Trump, waddling around ruffling his feathers and defecating on the lawn. Oh, that was the turkey. Excuse me.

As the United States gears up for Thanksgiving 2025, one of its strangest traditions takes centre stage once more: the presidential turkey pardon.

This annual ceremony, in which the U.S. president officially spares a turkey from the dinner table, is one of the more light-hearted moments of the year.

While gift-turkeys have been sent to the White House since the late 19th century, the modern ritual of issuing a “pardon” in the Rose Garden didn’t become formal until President George H. W. Bush declared in 1989 that one particularly fine specimen would not end up on anyone’s dinner plate, and instead would spend his days on a children’s farm.

Although stories of earlier bird clemencies are popularly retold, leading all the way back to Lincoln, these tales are, unfortunately, more legend than documented fact. The presidential turkey pardon really is a recent phenomenon.

Through the decades, presidents occasionally withheld a gifted turkey from slaughter, but it was Reagan who first used the word “pardon,” albeit in a joking aside. From then on, the light-hearted ceremony solidified into the annual tradition we know today.

Fast forward to 2025, and the ritual continues with its characteristic mix of humour and symbolism. This year’s turkeys, Gobble and Waddle, were selected by the National Turkey Federation from a larger flock, as is customary.

Weighing in at 52 and 50, respectively, both birds will soon enjoy a public reprieve, rather than being carved up for the holiday. The two are set to be pardoned in a ceremony on the South Lawn, a part of the White House that hasn’t been demolished, following tradition, and will likely retire to a farm or a petting zoo once their moment in the spotlight is over.

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While the event is indeed a seasonal photo-op, it is also wrapped up in larger social and economic themes. Animal welfare advocates note that the spectacle masks the harsher reality that the vast majority of turkeys raised for consumption live in cramped conditions and face health risks tied to selective breeding.

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