President Donald Trump didn't bring much holiday cheer Tuesday when bestowing ceremonial pardons on two Thanksgiving turkeys, dispensing more insults than goodwill at the traditional White House ritual.

He joked about sending the turkeys to an infamous prison in El Salvador that has been used to house migrants deported from the United States. He said the birds should be named Chuck and Nancy — after Democratic stalwarts Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi — but “I would never pardon those people.”

Trump claimed that last year's turkey pardons, issued by President Joe Biden, were invalid because he used an autopen. “Where's Hunter?” he said, suggesting that his predecessor's son could once again face legal jeopardy.

Scattered laughter rippled through the audience, which sat under cloudy skies and an intermittent drizzle on the Rose Garden patio.

Trump eventually got around to the business at hand, which was pardoning the turkeys Gobble and Waddle. Both were spared the dinner table, but only one got the spotlight.

“Gobble, I just want to tell you this — very important — you are hereby unconditionally pardoned,” Trump said. He reached over to run his hand over the feathers, saying, “Who would want to harm this beautiful bird?”

Trump used part of his ceremonial remarks to insist that the price of Thanksgiving meals was dropping under his leadership, although his numbers are misleading. Some research indicates that holiday dinners could cost more this year, a reminder of persistent frustration with inflation.

The president plans to fly south to his private Florida resort later Tuesday, a holiday interlude during what has been a turbulent and uncertain chapter of his second term.