After a historic midterm election, Democrats have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season--and Democratic President Joe Biden is making sure Republicans know it.
During the annual "Turkey Pardoning" ceremony held each November at the White House, Biden subtly trolled GOP lawmakers in his comments with a joke about the much anticipated "red wave" that never showed up on Election Day.
The dig came during a series of Thanksgiving-themed puns the President delivered in which he jokingly compared the red wave to the traditional cranberry sauce that will be gracing tables this Thursday.
See the moment below.
\u201cBiden has jokes: "The only red wave this season is gonna be if our German shepherd, Commander, knocks over the cranberry sauce at our table."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
The "turkey pardoning" tradition is said to have originated with President Abraham Lincoln, and after reappearing sporadically over the years has been a standard annual ceremony and the official kick-off of the holiday season at the White House since 1989.
This year, Biden may have shown mercy to the two turkeys in question, Chocolate and Chip, but when it came to Republicans, Biden pulled no punches.
While the GOP captured the House of Representatives by a razor-thin margin, their hopes of a Senate majority to go with it were dashed, as was their attempted takeover of state houses and state-level elections administrators in particular.
In his comments, Biden first joked about Republicans' claims of election fraud in the midterms, most notably in the state of Arizona, where Democrats racked up a series of upsets over 2020 election-denying Trump-approved candidates.
Biden punned:
“I don’t want to gobble up too much time. The votes are in. They’ve been counted and verified. There’s no ballot stuffing, there’s no fowl play.”
See what he did there? For those who love a pun, you couldn't ask for much better, but Biden kept going anyway, tying it all together with a perfect dig about the failed "red wave."
“The only red wave this season’s gonna be if German shepherd Commander knocks over the cranberry sauce on our table."
On Twitter, many were thankful for Biden's shady digs at the GOP.
\u201c@atrupar He's one joke away from asking reporters to pull his finger. It's refreshing having a sense of humor back in the white house.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar I'd rather have cranberry sauce on the carpet than ketchup on the walls.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar 3 dad jokes in under a minute: "I don't want to gobble up too much time...there wasn't any ballot stuffing...red wave cranberry sauce..."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar @Acyn Most people don\u2019t realize how funny Joe is, and has always been. Sadly, he\u2019s had to deal with one 45 created debacle, after another, since he took office. Dark Brandon doesn\u2019t play either. \ud83d\udd76\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar I live for his PaPaw Jokes\n\nYou go @POTUS \ud83d\udc4d\n\nhttps://t.co/h6oC8qOw2p\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar ladies and gentleman, please remember to tip your servers...and try the meatloaf..\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar @Acyn I love it when Joe Biden mocks the disloyal opposition. Folks, he\u2019s just really good at politics. It\u2019s almost as if he\u2019s been doing this for more than 50 years! (He has been!)\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar I love his sense of humor\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
\u201c@atrupar Pure perfection!\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1669048433
As for Chocolate and Chip, they'll be living out the rest of their lives on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. No word on their political affiliation, but we assume they're now Biden supporters if they weren't already.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC