Lame duck pardons turkey: Trump confronts reality
at muted Thanksgiving event
At a much diminished White House ceremony, the
president seemed to realise that his star has already begun to wane
David Smith
David Smith
in Washington
@smithinamerica
Tue 24 Nov
2020 22.19 GMTFirst published on Tue 24 Nov 2020 22.18 GMT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/24/trump-turkey-thanksgiving-white-house-ceremony
It was a
sad spectacle. Here was an ageing comic confronted by a shrinking audience, his
jokes landing with a thud, his star beginning to fade.
Donald
Trump suddenly finds himself where he has never been: a secondary story,
overshadowed by Joe Biden, dominating the news cycle no more.
On Tuesday,
Biden introduced the brainy grownups of his government-in-waiting at a weighty
event with lofty talk of restoring America’s moral leadership and saving the
planet from the climate crisis.
An hour
later, at the White House, a turkey was pardoned by a lame duck discovering how
fickle the media circus can be.
The
gathering in the Rose Garden was naturally diminished by the coronavirus
pandemic, but his last Thanksgiving ceremony was a muted affair that also
struggled to break through on cable news.
“Ladies and
gentleman, the president of the United States and Mrs Trump,” said an
announcer, the words suddenly elegiac as abnormal administration fades to
black.
Trump, true
to himself to the end, began by lauding the Dow Jones industrial average
breaking 30,000 for the first time. He praised his wife, Melania, for revamping
the Rose Garden, and welcomed his daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared, who
are perhaps contemplating their bumpy re-entry to New York society.
Trump
talked about the tradition of presidents sparing birds from the Thanksgiving
table, dating back to Abraham Lincoln and receiving formal pardons every year
since George HW Bush. This year’s pair, Corn and Cob, were selected from the
official presidential flock of 30, he said. “Some real beauties.”
The
president talked about the nation’s love of farmers and the 400th anniversary
of the arrival of the pilgrims on the Mayflower. He thanked doctors, nurses,
healthcare workers, and scientists who have fought the coronavirus pandemic and
raced towards a vaccine, but could not resist using the term “China virus” for
old time’s sake or bring himself to offer condolences to families of the
quarter-million Americans dead.
“We send
our love to every member of the armed forces and the law enforcement heroes
risking their lives to keep America safe, to keep America great, and, as I say,
‘America first’,” Trump said. “Shouldn’t go away from that: America first.”
As Biden prepares to take the reins of power,
Trump is left with the equivalent of ribbon-cutting
It sounded
like a feeble plea from a dying monarch, given that Biden had just vividly put
the Barack Obama band back together with an explicit repudiation of “America
first”.
What was
missing from Trump’s brief remarks were the puns of the Obama years that made
his daughters cringe, or Trump’s own brazen jokes in 2018 regarding an online
vote on which turkey should survive – “This was a fair election. Unfortunately,
Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we’re still fighting
with Carrots” – or his bleak humour about his own impeachment a year ago.
The reality
of losing, for a self-declared lifelong winner, is evidently not a laughing
matter. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump retweeted a picture of himself brooding over
the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with the caption: “I concede NOTHING!!!!!”
A man
scooped Corn up on to a table festooned with autumnal flowers and
mini-pumpkins. Trump and Melania walked over. With raised hand, Trump said:
“Look at that beautiful, beautiful bird. Oh, so lucky. That is a lucky bird.
Corn, I hereby grant you a full pardon. Thank you, Corn. What a bird. Thank
you.”
He added:
“Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.
Have a good one.”
So it was
that as Biden prepares to take the reins of power, Trump is left with the
equivalent of ribbon-cutting. The one-time champion of attention has lost his
crown to a challenger he deems unworthy. As he departed, reporters shouted, “Mr
President, will you be issuing a pardon for yourself?” and “Will you invite
president-elect Biden?”
Answer
there came none. The man who could never stop talking to reporters has now
taken a vow of silence. Bringing up the election result is as awkward as making
conversation at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by a divorcing
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