WASHINGTON– In a move the Trump campaign is calling “transformative for race relations,” President Donald Trump has officially pardoned a turkey named “Jive Turkey” at this year’s Thanksgiving ceremony instead of the traditional white turkey, with senior advisors confirming the act will be counted among the administration’s top civil rights accomplishments.
“By pardoning this Jive Turkey,” Trump began as the black turkey sporting a meticulously styled afro nodded its head, “we are finally making amends for centuries of racial injustice to the black community. Let this historic moment count as reparations to all black people across America.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing that the pardon of a black turkey would be officially listed as one of the Trump administration’s greatest civil rights achievements.
“The symbolism here cannot be overstated,” said Karoline Leavitt while eating a turkey leg. “The President saw an opportunity to extend grace to that Jive Turkey, and he took it. What matters is the gesture. The President doesn’t see color when he looks at poultry. He just sees an American turkey deserving of freedom.”
When asked about the historical significance, Trump claimed, “No one has done more for civil rights than me. The pardon of this Jive Turkey is bigger than Martin Luther King Jr., bigger than Rosa Parks, bigger than Bill Cosby.”
Democrats have labeled Trump’s pardon of the black turkey as racist, pointing out that the term “Jive Turkey” was an African-American slang phrase from the 1960s and 1970s often used to describe someone talking nonsense.
Only one day after the Thanksgiving ceremony, Jive Turkey was arrested for looting a local convenience store.
