Former US President Barack Obama has shared a video of some of his best Thanksgiving jokes on Twitter. Known for his sharp wit and an ability for timely comebacks, Obama’s speeches during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation and the White House Correspondent’s Dinner were loved by the former president’s fans.
Check out the video right here:
In most of the clips shared by the 44th US President, he is accompanied by his daughters Sasha and Malia. At his last presidential turkey pardon, Obama quipped that he had told his daughters that they would continue the tradition as a family since he did not wish to stop this practise “cold turkey”.
What is the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation?
The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is an annual White House event that has been going on since 1947 during the Presidency of Harry S. Truman. While most turkeys presented on the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation event were killed for Thanksgiving dinner, the tradition changed during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
However, it was George H.W. Bush, his successor, who would introduce the turkey pardon as an official White House event. Since then, a president is presented with a turkey every year, which has usually been reared in the home state of the National Turkey Federation’s chairperson. Since then, every sitting US President has been issuing a ceremonial pardon to a turkey on this day every year.
In the 2022 edition of the event, President Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys- one called Chocolate, and the other one called Chip. Both birds were raised on a farm owned by the current NTF chairperson, Ronnie Parker.
Biden’s speech was interspersed with puns about turkeys and also referenced the apparent “red wave” that did not happen at the recently concluded midterm elections.
Regarding the elections, the President remarked, “The votes are in. They’ve been counted and verified. There’s no ballot stuffing. There’s no fowl play,” further adding, “The only red wave this season is going to be if German Shepard Commander knocks over the cranberry sauce on our table.”
