President Barack Obama chose between two turkeys to pardon this year: either Mac or Cheese, Philly.com reported on Wednesday.
An online contest was put forth by the White House until Wednesday afternoon to have United States residents decide which one of the two 50-pound gobblers would be named the National Thanksgiving Turkey. The winner of the contest will be spared and kept away from the dinner table. Usually, the tradition is for both turkeys to be spared.
The safe bird will be sent to a turkey farm in Northern Virginia to bask in its victory and live out the rest of its day naturally.
But, in a change of pace, the president decided to spare both Mac and Cheese during a ceremony on Wednesday. Though they will both remain alive, Cheese won America's vote, Mashable reported.
"It's kind of like Miss Universe, you know," Gary Cooper, chairman of the National Turkey Federation and owner of Cooper Farms where the turkeys were raised, told USA TODAY. "We've got the winner and the first runner-up."
The two turkeys were born in Fort Recovery, Ohio, in July. Their size, coloring and temperament made them perfect candidates for the presidential pardon.
"They have to be docile to the point that I can pick them up," Cooper said, adding that the turkeys act differently from one another. "One is real anxious and ready to go, and the other one is kind of reserved."
President George H.W. Bush started the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989, though other presidents before him have spared birds just before the holiday.
