Trump Makes Shock Joke About Alleged Torture Prison During Turkey Pardon

President Donald Trump took things to a dark place at the annual White House Turkey Pardon ceremony, cracking wise about a notorious foreign prison that has been the subject of lawsuits and torture allegations.

Among the many traditions surrounding Thanksgiving, there are several that are particular to politics: the preparations for arguments with family members, the vows not to argue, even the estrangement over politics that has crept in over the years, and the politics of dinner prices.

Then there’s the presidential turkey pardon, an event that is normally the occasion for light-hearted jokes — some lighter than others — and puns galore.

Trump took to the newly-renovated Rose Garden/Patio of the White House on Tuesday afternoon to perform the 2025 Turkey Pardon ceremony, during which things took several dark turns.

As he prepared to issue a pardon to either “gobble” or “Waddle,” Trump joked that he would “never pardon” a pair of rivals who have not been charged with any crime, let alone convicted:

When I first saw their pictures, I thought we should send them… Well, I shouldn’t say this. I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I realized I would be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people. I wouldn’t pardon them. I wouldn’t care what Melania had told me. “Darling, I think it would be a nice thing to do.” I won’t do it, darling.

After a lengthy riff on crime and immigration, he joked about sending the birds to CECOT, the El Salvador prison to which Trump has deported migrants who were reportedly then tortured:

But instead of pardon, some of my more enthusiastic staffers were already drafting the paperwork to ship Gobble and Waddle straight to the terrorist confinement center in El Salvador. And even those birds don’t want to be there. You know what I mean? It was a tough… I’d like to thank the president of that country. They do a rather efficient job.

Later in the speech, Trump referred to Governor J.B. Pritzker in a less-than-charitable fashion:

And if you look at the crime that’s taken place in Chicago in the last two weeks, just take a look. It’s on the front page of every newspaper. It’s out of control. The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob. He ought to invite us in, say, “Please make Chicago safe.”

Watch above via The White House.

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