Biden issues final heartfelt Thanksgiving message as president: 'We keep going'
President Biden issued his final Thanksgiving Day message as president Thursday, sharing his gratitude for his supporters.
"With hearts full of gratitude: Happy Thanksgiving, America," Biden wrote on the social platform X, alongside a video. "Jill and I are so grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us these past four years — serving you has been the honor of our lives."
The video showed a montage of the president's Monday visit with members of the Coast Guard. Text on the video echoes the above sentiment, while acknowledging those "who will have an empty seat at their table this year."
"You know we're blessed to live in the United States of America. We're literally the greatest country on Earth," the message continues. "No matter what, we never give up. We keep going. We keep the faith in America."
His words come just days after his last holiday season began at the White House's annual turkey pardoning ceremony.
On Monday, the president pardoned turkeys Peach and Blossom, who will now head to the Minnesota Agricultural Interpretive Center to serve as education ambassadors. They took a two-day trip from Minnesota for the event, which involved listening to “Livin’ on Prayer” on the way, Biden quipped.
“This event marks the official start of the holiday season here is Washington. It’s also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude," he said Monday. "So let me say to you — it’s been the honor of my life, I am forever thankful."
The president is spending his Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Mass. He and Vice President Harris were also expected to call members of the military Thursday, per the White House.
Biden's comments were much different from those President-elect Trump offered Thursday in his Thanksgiving message.
"Happy Thanksgiving to all, including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed, and will always fail, because their ideas and policies are so hopelessly bad that the great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote early Thursday on Truth Social.
In contrast to the events following the 2020 election, Biden and Trump have agreed to a peaceful transfer of power in January. The president-elect also signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this week that will give his Cabinet picks time to meet with their counterparts in the Biden administration.