While it’s hard to speak positively of anything that happened in 2020 — the year of doom — one thing remains true: the internet has been so good to us. From Four Seasons Total Landscaping to conspiracy theories that Barron Trump needs “saving,” there’s been no shortage of humor in the online world. And just before Thanksgiving, we’ve once-again been blessed with a parody-level video that is truly fit for these trying times. On Monday, a 2018 video of Donald Trump during the annual presidential Turkey Pardon in the White House Rose Garden resurfaced on Twitter — and it sure gave us a lot to be thankful for.
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Back in 2018, a pre-impeachment Trump was tasked with pardoning two turkeys named Peas and Carrots (sure, ok), but only Peas was voted as the winner of the pardon on the official White House website. Then, in a nearly-prophetic statement made by Trump, he likened Carrots’ loss to losing an election: “This was a fair election...unfortunately, Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we’re still fighting with Carrots," he said.
“We've come to a conclusion: Carrots, I'm sorry to tell you, the results did not change. Too bad for Carrots," Trump said. (Before diving into the parody of it all, it should be noted that Carrots was ultimately pardoned along with Peas, and the two were taken to "Gobbler's Rest” on the Virginia Tech campus.)
FLASHBACK: In 2018, President Trump attacked Carrots the turkey for refusing to concede he had lost the vote on the White House turkey pardon contest.
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) November 23, 2020
"This was a fair election... unfortunately, Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount."
pic.twitter.com/MzcackiDwd
Of course, the irony here is clear: Trump is literally now a turkey named Carrots who refuses to concede his election to Peas (let’s just call him President-elect Joe Biden, for the sake of this analogy). Much like what he alleges about Carrots, Trump, too, is demanding a recount and asserting that he is the real winner. But, Donald, I’m sorry to tell you, we’ve also come to the conclusion, the results did not change. Too bad for Donald.
Since losing the election over two weeks ago, Trump has filed lawsuits in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, making claims that votes for him were purposely discarded and that counting mail-in ballots weren’t properly monitored. There is, of course, no evidence to date to substantiate these widespread claims of voter fraud, with even establishment Republicans beginning to turn their backs on the Trump administration’s efforts to invalidate the election. Still, Trump’s attempts to claim victory over Biden have been largely reinforced by his supporters, who have cried over zombie voters, among other unsupported theories, as well as his most loyal (but clearly inept) confidante and lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
But above all, we are very sorry to Carrots, who truly did not deserve a fate of representing Trump in a metaphor that was two years in the making. Shoutout to Carrots — our thoughts are with you!