Visit from Turkey in Press Briefing Room

At 11:29 a.m. a live turkey was brought into the press briefing room, accompanied by handler Jeff Sveen (pronounced "Sven"), who is also chairman of the National Turkey Federation.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters declined to say whether the bird was "Peas" or "Carrots." She noted that online voting had just concluded to determine which bird President Trump will "pardon" at 1:00 p.m. in the Rose Garden.

"We're not telling you which one this is," Walters said.

Whichever bird it was stayed for four minutes, at first exiting a carrying crate when Sveen said: "Come on, buddy."

A press aide came through the door from lower press a minute earlier and insisted: "I'm not a turkey."

Turkey farmer Ruben Waldner stood to one side with Sveen's wife Marcy. They said they expected to meet President Trump in the Oval Office during the afternoon.

Waldner is from Huron, South Dakota and raised the two birds contending for today's pardon. Originally named Jeff and Ruben, they were rechristened by the White House.

Several still photographers, sitting on the floor in front of the first row of seats, made "gobble-gobble" sounds until the bird responded in kind with the real thing.

There was no talk of pardons from the bird, but one reporter in the back shouted a question about whether it had been "promised anything in exchange for your pardon."

The bird didn't want to go back in his/her crate at the end of the brief photo-op, and instead started walking toward the photographers.

With another "Come on, buddy," Sveen coaxed the turkey back inside and left.