On Tuesday afternoon, Donald Trump took part, for the first time, in what is perhaps the dumbest annual tradition of the American presidency: the formal pre-Thanksgiving pardon of a pair of giant, ugly, bewildered-looking turkeys in the White House Rose Garden. Following in the footsteps of Tater and Tot, the lucky birds spared last year by President Obama, Drumstick and Wishbone will now peacefully live out their remaining days at an agricultural science facility on the Virginia Tech University campus called "Gobbler’s Rest," a name that, incredibly, I did not just make up.

Previously, the turkey pardon has been known more for horrible Thanksgiving-themed Dad Jokes than for references to partisan politics. However, because the only coherent item on this president's policy agenda, even after a year in office, remains "Figure out what President Obama did and then do the opposite," Donald Trump couldn't even make it through a goofy National Turkey Federation photo op without making reference to his muse.

As many of you know, I have been very active in overturning a number of executive actions by my predecessor. However, I have been informed by the White House counsel’s office that Tater and Tot’s pardons cannot, under any circumstances, be revoked.

I recognize that there's, like a 90 percent chance that this particular reference is a joke, even if Donald Trump's obsession with Barack Obama is 100 percent real. In any event, it's great fun to imagine how that dialogue might have played out.

DONALD TRUMP [excitedly rushing into office]: Hey! Hey, Don!

DON McGAHN [startled]: Uh, what's going on, boss?

TRUMP: Can I revoke He Who Shall Not Be Named's pardons of the last two turkeys?

McGAHN: [laughs politely]

TRUMP [frowning]: What? What's funny?

McGAHN [blushing]: Oh, uh... Wait, are you serious?

TRUMP [growing visibly annoyed]: Why would I joke about something like that?

McGAHN [sweating a little]: Sir, respectfully, I don't know if you've been following the news lately, but our legal team here is kind of busy with some very important stuff right now!

TRUMP [thinking]: Wait, is there any limit to the number of pardons I can issue as president?

McGAHN: Not that I know of, sir. Why?

TRUMP [already out the door]: No reason! First thing tomorrow will be fine, Don.

McGAHN: [sighs heavily, opens Westlaw]

Donald Trump has spent the past year (ab)using his executive authority to do things like pull the country out of the Paris Agreement, gut Affordable Care Act rules in an effort to sabotage the legislation that he can't seem to repeal, and repeatedly attempt to fulfill his campaign promise to ban an entire religion from entering the country, but fortunately for Tater and Tot—who probably couldn't believe that their good names were suddenly being dragged through the mud all over again—it does not appear that gimmick pardons issued to domestic fowl are reversible after all. It's comforting to know that at least one aspect of President Obama's legacy, dumb though it may be, will remain firmly out of his successor's feeble grasp.