Donald Trump performed the traditional Thanksgiving turkey pardon while delivering one of his signature speeches – one filled with both praise and numerous jabs at his political opponents.

He attended the event with First Lady Melania Trump, and a professional lip reader later caught his unusual remark.

As usual, Trump attracted media attention Tuesday by taking the podium during the annual turkey pardon, a Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to Abraham Lincoln.

Although Lincoln initiated the practice of saving turkeys, it was President George H. W. Bush who turned it into the annual ritual we see today, starting in 1989.

This year, Trump pardoned turkeys Gobble and Wade, who had already experienced luxury before their visit to the White House. According to Jaap Boelens, manager of the Willard Hotel in Washington, the turkeys spent Monday night in a $400-a-night suite.

“Our special guests arrived with a red carpet welcome and quickly settled in,” Boelens told WAGM. “I checked on them this morning and even ran a credit check,” he joked. “The minibar was ransacked, which is perfectly fine.”

During his speech, Trump quickly pivoted to criticizing his political rivals. He mentioned that when he first saw the turkeys, he considered naming them Chuck and Nancy, a clear attack on Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

“But then I realized I wouldn’t pardon them. I would never pardon those two,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t do so “no matter what Melania tells me.”

Instead of ending up on a Thanksgiving plate, Gobble and Wade will retire from the Prestage Chair in Poultry Science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Trump also claimed that U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. certified the birds as “first-era MAHA turkeys,” a nod to his “Make America Healthy Again” slogan.

“They may be chubby, but they’re still MAHA,” Trump said.

“They ate every fattening food imaginable. We wanted them to be special.”

The president also appeared to make a peculiar comment to Melania during the ceremony. Nicola Hickling, a lip reader, told the Express that as the First Lady stepped back down the stairs, Trump said, “I’d be happy to follow you.”

Observing the turkeys, he continued his conversation with Melania, clearly surprised by their appearance. “Wow! Okay, okay, look at this… so this isn’t abnormal? … Is this normal? How big do they get? They look like a pretty aggressive bird,” he observed.