Opening the ceremony, the president was briefly interrupted by Gobble, the turkey who took part in the ceremony in the Rose Garden, prompting Mr Trump to quip: “Boy, that’s a well-trained turkey,” Mr Trump joked.
Waddle is thought to have stayed behind at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, where the birds were ceremonially put up for their trip to Washington, DC. A night at the five-star hotel costs around $900 (£681).
Although both birds are granted freedom, traditionally just one is chosen to meet the president.
“On behalf of the first lady and the entire Trump family, I want to wish you all Americans a very, very happy Thanksgiving,” Mr Trump said during the ceremony.
“It’s a great time of the year and our country’s doing really, really well, economically like we’ve never done before. Today, we continue a time-honoured American tradition.”
The US president went on to boast of his many achievements in the first 11 months of his second term, highlighting efforts to contain migration at the southern border and reduce crime in Washington, DC.
“We haven’t had a murder in six months,” he claimed. There have been 61 killings in America’s capital since May, according to AP.
