Meet Liberty and Bell: This year’s White House pardoned turkeys got Pennsylvania-themed names

This year’s annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony had a touch of Philly flair.

As part of a decades-long tradition, President Joe Biden greeted a pair of 4-month-old turkeys Monday and granted them their freedom from becoming someone’s dinner.

This year, Liberty and Bell were both pardoned. The pair were named after the state of Pennsylvania, where President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden each lived during their childhood years. The swing state also played a large role in Biden’s campaign history, and his 2020 campaign headquarters were in Philadelphia.

Here are the details.

It’s unclear who named this year’s duo. Biden pardoned Peanut Butter and Jelly in 2021 and Chocolate and Chip in 2022.

Liberty is 42.5 pounds while Bell is 42.1 pounds. They were born in July and raised in a farm that’s part of the Jennie-O Turkey Store in west-central Minnesota as part of this year’s “Presidential Flock.”

So far, they’ve taken a 20-hour trip to DC in a stretch black Cadillac Escalade and have stayed at the luxe Willard InterContinental Hotel before walking the red carpet for a news conference Sunday. On Monday, one of them (we think it was Liberty, but who’s to say?) stood perched on a podium as Biden granted the pair their freedom.

“That’s a big bird,” Biden said before officially pardoning them.

A spokesperson said the turkeys were selected from the flock because of their extroverted nature, priming them for their five minutes of fame. To prepare for the ceremony — which includes a band, cameras, and lots of cheering — the birds have been exposed to music and clapping at different volumes.

“They checked in, they went up to their rooms, they saw the map with what to do in the city, they had a bubble bath, and I heard that they also had something out of the minibar,” the Willard InterContinental Hotel’s general manager told CNN.

After being pardoned, the turkeys will be housed at the University of Minnesota, a Jennie-O spokesperson said.

In captivity, turkeys can live to be about 10 years old. Typically, turkeys used for their meat are killed when they’re about 5 months old, according to PETA.

Liberty and Bell will live out their lives at the university’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, where they’ll be looked after by veterinary students and professionals.

The history is a bit muddled.

The White House says turkeys began being presented to presidents in 1947 under President Harry S. Truman. But he had no intention of pardoning them, making a quip the following year about how they’d come in handy for dinner.

Some say President Abraham Lincoln was the first president to pardon a turkey in 1863, though the White House says the story is unverified.

By 1963, President John F. Kennedy appeared to be the first president on record to grant a turkey clemency, telling attendees at the presentation, “Let’s keep him going.” The Nixons and Carters also sent turkeys presented to them to farms.

The practice became the norm by 1981 under President Ronald Reagan and was later formalized in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush, according to the White House. It morphed into the light-hearted satirical practice we know today.

“Yes we cran,” then-President Barack Obama joked during one of his pardoning ceremonies. “I want to take a moment to recognize the great turkeys who weren’t so lucky, who didn’t get to ride the gravy train to freedom. Who met their fate with courage and sacrifice and proved that they weren’t chicken.”

This year’s Turkey Pardon took place on the South Lawn of the White House at 11:15 a.m.

It was broadcast live by C-SPAN, CNBC, and others and can be replayed below.