Leah Millis/Reuters
President Trump pardoned a turkey named "Peas" at the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation on Tuesday.
- President Donald Trump pardoned a turkey named "Peas" during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation on Tuesday.
- Peas beat out another turkey named "Carrots" to receive the official pardon. Trump joked that the vote was a "fair and open election" but Carrots "refused to concede and demanded a recount."
- While both turkeys will be spared slaughtering, Trump said he warned them that even with his pardon, "House Democrats are likely to issue them both a subpoena."
President Donald Trump pardoned a turkey named "Peas" on Tuesday, after joking that the back-up bird, "Carrots," had "demanded a recount."
The president appeared to stick to the script during his brief speech during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation on Tuesday, in which he made multiple jokes about the recent midterm elections and his pardoning of controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Peas became the official pardoned turkey after winning an online poll on the White House website, which Trump described as "a fair and open election."
Lean Millis/Reuters
First lady Melania Trump stood by her husband during the speech.
"Unfortunately Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we're still fighting with Carrots," Trump said, referencing the contentious recounts that took place in Florida and Georgia after close midterm elections in those states.
Trump went on to point out that both birds will get to spend the rest of their lives at "Gobbler's Rest" the official home for presidential turkey pardons at Virginia Tech University.
However, he joked that even with his pardon, he's warned the two birds "that House Democrats are likely to issue them both a subpoena."
Read more: A short history of the 'turkey pardon,' the White House's weirdest Thanksgiving tradition
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Trump joked that Peas had won the pardon in a "fair and open election."
"Unfortunately I can't guarantee that your pardons won't be enjoined bythe 9th Circuit," Trump added.
This appears to be a reference of his pardon of former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of flouting a court order and continuing to carry out a racial profiling policy.
After receiving his pardon, Arpaio tried to get the conviction vacated, but the 9th Circuit Court pointed out that the pardon only saves him from punishment for the crime - it doesn't mean the conviction is no longer valid.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Trump's daughter Ivanka, her husband Jared and their three children attended the event in the first row.
Trump finished his speech by saying that Thanksgiving is a time "to unite together in the spirit of love, understanding, unity and joy as one very proud American family."
Trump's own family members were in attendance. Wife Melania stood by his side during the speech and pardoning, while his daughter Ivanka, her husband Jared Kushner, and their three children sat in the front row.
Ivanka, who works as an assistant to her father in the White House, came under fire on Monday when it was revealed that she used a personal email account to send hundreds of government-related emails last year.