bclement

Turkey Presentations

While it’s now commonplace for the sitting President to pardon turkeys in celebration of Thanksgiving, this has not always been the case.  President Ford did not pardon any of the turkeys presented to him by the National Turkey Federation.  That’s not to say that there wasn’t a celebration though.  President Ford participated in each of the turkey presentations he was in office (1974-1976).  

Representatives from the National Turkey Federation present President Gerald R. Ford with a Thanksgiving turkey on November 11, 1974.
A1848-14 / NAID: 23869127
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
President Gerald R. Ford is presented with a Thanksgiving turkey by the National Turkey Federation on November 20, 1975.
A7387-15 / NAID: 6829627
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
White House Photographic Office Photographs, Contact Sheets: B2292, November 18, 1976.
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

In 1974, President Ford had this to say at the presentation:

By the sounds of it, the Fords planned on eating, not pardoning, the bird.

Author: Brooke Clement