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Trump taunts political opponents as turkey pardon goes off script: 'He's a fat slob'
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Trump taunts political opponents as turkey pardon goes off script: 'He's a fat slob'

'I shouldn't say this.'

To the amusement of staff and attendees, President Donald Trump once again went wildly off script during the annual turkey pardon ceremony at the White House.

Trump pardoned two turkeys on Tuesday named Gobble and Waddle, one of which was unfortunately "missing in action." During his address leading up to the pardon, the president shared several unscripted, Trumpian quips, prompting laughter from the audience.

'I don't talk about people being fat.'

Trump first set his sights on Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, who has butted heads with the administration over calls to deploy the National Guard to the crime-ridden city of Chicago. Trump taunted Pritzker for refusing to accept federal assistance in Chicago, and of course, for his weight.

"I'm not going to tell my Pritzker joke," Trump said. "They have a very cute little joke, you know. Some speechwriter wrote some joke about his weight, but I would never want to talk about his weight."

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"I don't talk about people being fat," Trump added. "I refuse to talk about the fact that he's a fat slob. I don't mention it!"

Trump conceded that although Pritzker is "a fat slob," he himself could "lose a few pounds too."

But Trump did not stop at Pritzker. The president got back on track to talk about Gobble and Waddle's imminent presidential pardons but not before taking another jab at his two greatest opponents on Capitol Hill.

"When I first saw their pictures ... well, I shouldn't say this," Trump said.

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Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy," Trump said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "But then I realized I wouldn't be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people."

On the topic of pardons, Trump also joked about former President Joe Biden's autopen, questioning the validity of last year's turkey pardon.

"He used an autopen last year for the turkey's pardon," Trump said. "So I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined, that last year's turkey pardons are totally invalid as are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned other than ... where's Hunter?"

"Hunter's was good, that was the one pardon ... that was good."

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Rebeka Zeljko

Rebeka Zeljko

Rebeka Zeljko is a Capitol Hill and politics reporter for Blaze News.
@rebekazeljko →