From an AP story by Darlene Superville headlined “Biden pardons National Thanksgiving Turkeys while marking his birthday with jokes about his age”:

Turkeys Liberty and Bell have new appreciation for the phrase, “Let freedom ring.”

The Thanksgiving birds played their part Monday in annual White House tradition that this year coincided with President Joe Biden ‘s 81st birthday: a president issuing a pardon and sparing them from becoming someone’s holiday dinner.

First, Biden — the oldest president in U.S. history — wanted to make light of his age.