Here's The Lowdown On The Turkeys Receiving A Pardon From Biden This Thanksgiving 2023

Every Thanksgiving, Americans eat approximately 46 million turkeys as part of their Thanksgiving traditions (per the University of Illinois). And for the 76th year, the President of the United States will engage in a White House Thanksgiving tradition: He will pardon two turkeys, saving them from the table. In 2023, the two lucky birds are from Jennie-O Turkey Store, a Hormel subsidiary out of Willmar, Minnesota (via Hormel Foods).

These two turkeys were hatched in July and raised among a Jennie-O flock. They were presented to the public during the opening day of the state's biggest event of the year, the Minnesota State Fair. The two will travel from central Minnesota to Washington, D.C. via a private coach, according to the Jennie-O Brands president, Steve Lykken. They will then walk the red carpet to their pre-ceremony accommodations at the Willard InterContinental.

These Minnesotan turkeys will mark the fifteenth year the Willard has hosted the turkeys getting the presidential pardon. The Willard puts down a layer of plastic over the carpet and then covers it in wood chips, adjusts the temperature, and makes their feathered guests feel as comfortable as possible before their big day.

Turkeys have been gifted to American presidents since the 1870s, but the origin of the pardoning practice is murky. One story goes that the first president to ever pardon a turkey was, technically, Abraham Lincoln. In 1865, White House reporter Noah Brooks claimed that President Lincoln had granted clemency to a turkey when his son Tad asked to keep it as a pet.

Many have reported that President Harry S. Truman was the first to officially pardon a turkey, but this is disputed by the Harry Truman Library & Museum (per the White House). In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was presented with a turkey and said, "Let's keep him going." First wives Patricia Nixon and Rosalynn Carter accepted and rehomed turkeys with a local children's farm and mini zoo, respectively. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush was reportedly the first to use the words "presidential pardon" for a turkey, saying, "But let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy — he's granted a Presidential pardon as of right now" (via the White House).

The White House has, as of publication, not released two important details regarding these northern birds — their names and their retirement plan. Pardoned turkeys are named in pairs. In recent years, the turkeys have been Bread and Butter, Corn and Cob, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Chocolate and Chip.

We also don't yet know where these two birds will go post-pardon. There's no designated retirement home for pardoned turkeys; after they're pardoned, turkeys have historically been sent to a number of various places to live out their days. In 1989, George H.W. Bush said the bird would go off to a children's farm near D.C. Many turkeys in following years were sent off to Frying Pan Farm Park in Virginia, and a pair in 2005 were sent to Disneyland to preside over the Thanksgiving Day Parade as designated grand marshals. Birds since have been sent to Disney World, Mount Vernon, the estate of former Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis, and various universities. In recent years, the pardoned turkeys have gone to Virginia Tech, Iowa State University, Perdue, and North Carolina State University.