Bizarre reason Trump has claimed Biden’s turkey pardons from last year are now ‘invalid’
Donald Trump used the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony to criticize former president Joe Biden.
As part of the tradition, Trump prepared to pardon a turkey, but before doing so, he shifted his speech toward attacking Biden’s actions the previous year.
In a long, wandering statement, Trump claimed that a major investigation—supposedly involving multiple federal agencies—had uncovered a problem with Biden’s 2023 turkey pardons.
Trump argued that Biden had used an autopen, a device that automatically reproduces a person’s signature, to approve the pardons. Because of this, he declared that the previous year’s turkey pardons were “totally invalid.”
He noted that autopens are often used by high-ranking officials for routine paperwork and even acknowledged that he had used them himself. Still, Trump insisted that Biden’s autopen signatures invalidated not only the turkey pardons but also pardons for individuals associated with the January 6 investigation.
Trump joked that the two turkeys pardoned by Biden—Peach and Blossom—had been “found” and officially pardoned again, assuring the audience that they would not be served at Thanksgiving.
His comments connected to earlier accusations, including a Truth Social post where he claimed Biden didn’t personally sign certain pardons and was unaware of them. Reports have also mentioned Trump mocking Biden’s reliance on an autopen, though there are currently no laws restricting its use by U.S. politicians.