Turkeys pin hopes on Trump pardon - just don't ask about last year's birds

[jpak]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/nov/19/turkeys-trump-thanksgiving

Donald Trump will get a welcome break from disastrous midterm results, rumored looming indictments and appalling approval ratings on Tuesday, when he is expected to pardon two turkeys at the White House.

The 71-year-old tradition will represent a rare opportunity for the White House – a good news story that even Trump would struggle to foul up.

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Unfortunately for both Peas and Carrots, recent precedent suggests Trump’s pardon comes with a dark caveat. A spokesman for Virginia Tech, the university which traditionally tends to the turkeys post-pardon, said both birds Trump exculpated in 2017 are dead.

The spokesman said the passing of Drumstick and Wishbone was “not surprising given the short life expectancy of domestic turkeys”, although the birds Barack Obama reprieved in 2016 were still alive a year later.

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[central scrutinizer]

1. White House spokesman Les Nessman

Has a plan for the birds.