President Trump pardoned two turkeys named Gobble and Waddle on Tuesday. With that in mind, CBS News' Lindsey Reiser serves up the origins of the pardon event, one of Washington's quirkiest traditions.

Washington

The White House turkey pardon has evolved into a well-known Thanksgiving tradition, with presidents sparing turkeys from the dinner table in a ceremony filled with humor and historical significance. The practice began with President Harry Truman's participation in an official turkey presentation in 1947, though there is no record of an actual pardon at that time.

The tradition became more defined over the years, with President John F. Kennedy sparing a turkey in 1963 and President Ronald Reagan referencing a pardon in the 1980s. It was President George H.W. Bush who formalized the ceremony in 1989, establishing the rules and lighthearted tone that continue today. Since then, over 60 turkeys have been officially pardoned at the White House.

The origins of the presidential turkey pardon

This afternoon president Trump pardoned two turkeys named gobble and waddle after receiving their reprieve from the dinner table They'll be heading to North Carolina State University's prestige Department of poultry science to live out their golden years Presidents have been dishing out pardons for turkeys for decades. The event has become a Thanksgiving staple So tonight we are serving up the origins of one of Washington's quirkiest traditions with a side of some presidential dad jokes in 1947 Harry Truman was the first president to participate in an official turkey presentation as part of post-world war 2 food conservation efforts Truman encouraged Poultry list Thursdays and this ruffled feathers for the poultry industry and the Turkey Federation sent him a giant turkey that December as a peace Offering he posed with the bird, but the Truman Library has found no records of any sort of home for the turkey fast-forward in 1963 president John F. Kennedy spared a turkey that was sitting on top of a sign reading quote good eating. Mr President and that became the first unofficial turkey pardon first ladies Patricia Nixon and Rosalyn Carter Both sent turkeys that their husbands received from the Turkey Federation to public zoos and farms President Ronald Reagan was technically the first to actually reverence pardoning Charlie the turkey in an attempt to dodge questions about the Iran-contra scandal the turkey pardon became a formal tradition in 1989 with President George HW Bush during the annual receiving ceremony He quipped that he could assure the American public that this turkey would not be eaten and instead given a presidential pardon George HW Bush established the rules and joke filled ceremony that every president afterward would follow President Barack Obama was notorious for his quote Cornucopia of dad jokes about turkeys while his daughters cringed beside him More than 60 turkeys have been pardoned since the ceremony became an official White House tradition

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