US President Donald Trump (right) pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump turned the quirky annual White House ritual of pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys into a riff on his impeachment Tuesday, joking that the two birds had been subpoenaed to testify.

"They've received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday," Trump said in the Rose Garden, referring to the head of the intelligence committee leading the impeachment probe in the House of Representatives.

Trump was presiding over a ceremony where the president symbolically spares a specially chosen turkey from joining the more than 45 million estimated to be consumed nationwide at Thanksgiving holiday.

After online polls, a large white bird named Butter won a close vote over his competitor, Bread. Both will be sent to a site known as Gobbler's Rest at Virginia Tech University.

"Butter, I wish you a lot of luck. I hereby grant you a full and complete pardon," Trump said.

AFP