US President Barack Obama smiles as he participates in the annual turkey pardoning ceremony. Photo: Larry Downing, ReutersUS President Barack Obama smiles as he participates in the annual turkey pardoning ceremony. Photo: Larry Downing, Reuters

President Barack Obama is defending his legal authority to take executive actions - to spare a pair of Thanksgiving turkeys.

Mr Obama joked that his turkey pardon will be his "most talked about executive action this month".

Last week, the president issued a series of highly anticipated executive actions on immigration that are opposed by Republicans.

The presidential turkey pardon is a quirky annual tradition at Thanksgiving, the holiday when American families gather for turkey feasts.

The two turkeys who were granted this year's presidential pardons are Mac and Cheese.

The birds will be sent to a Northern Virginia turkey farm to live out the rest of their days.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.