WASHINGTON: As part of the annual US presidential Thanksgiving tradition, President Donald Trump pardoned a pair of turkeys marking his last Thanksgiving session at the Whilet House.

This was also one of his rare sightings post the November 3 elections after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden Trump appeared alongside First Lady Melania Trump to pardon the turkeys, named Corn and Cob, in the 73-year-old tradition.

The birds were raised and presented by the National Turkey Federation ahead of Thanksgiving on Thursday. For the past 73 years, the National Turkey Federation has presented the national Thanksgiving turkey to the president.

"On behalf of the entire Trump Family, I want to wish every American a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving! Today we gathered in the Rose Garden to continue a beloved annual tradition: the Official Presidential Pardon of a very fortunate Thanksgiving Turkey," Trump said in a tweet.

Watch President Donald Trump's Thanksgiving Ceremony Here:

https://t.co/fps08npGqJ pic.twitter.com/e7giu2jEG1
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2020

President Donald Trump claimed that he had won the election and uttered repeated falsehoods as he called into an event held by Pennsylvania Republicans to investigate unproven allegations of voter fraud."This was an election that we won easily. We won it by a lot," Trump declared on Wednesday. Trump lost to President-elect Joe Biden by about 150,000 votes in the state, and Pennsylvania certified Biden as the winner on Tuesday.

Meanwhile US President-elect Joe Biden has reminded Americans that they were at war with the coronavirus and not against each other, as he called for an end to the "grim season of division" in the country.In a Thanksgiving address ahead of the holiday, he urged fellow Americans to forgo high-risk holiday traditions, as cases of the virus continue to surge in the US, the worst-hit nation with over 262,100 deaths. (With inputs from AP )