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Nov 20, 2023 - Politics & Policy

How Biden's presidential turkeys stack up to the rest

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Data: Axios research; Note: Only turkeys where weight of bird was known are shown; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios
Data: Axios research; Note: Only turkeys where weight of bird was known are shown; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios

Liberty and Bell — two 42-pound turkeys — were pardoned today by President Biden and spared from the Thanksgiving table.

The big picture: They're squarely in the middle of the flock of turkeys pardoned over the last 40 years.

  • The heaviest one was Willis, a 60-pound bird pardoned by President Clinton in 1997.
  • Katie, pardoned by President George W. Bush in 2002, was the lightest at 30 pounds.

Driving the news: The turkeys traveled from Minnesota in a Cadillac Escalade and stayed overnight at a suite in the Willard Intercontinental near the White House.

  • President Biden, celebrating his 81st birthday, joked that it was "the 76th anniversary of this event. And I want you to know I wasn't there at the first one. I was too young to make it up."
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