Trump's Thanksgiving Blitz: Turkey Pardons, Peace Talks, and a New Manhattan Project

Donald Trump BioSnap a weekly updated Biography. Donald Trump has made headlines nearly every day this Thanksgiving week with a flurry of public events, pronouncements on policy, and high-profile meetings keeping him in the constant glare of news and social media. Most recently, he presided over the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning at the White House alongside First Lady Melania Trump on November 25th, a cheerful photo op that’s now viral across Instagram and TikTok, serving up plenty of memes and a montage of holiday wishes. Earlier in the week, Melania was featured warmly welcoming the 2025 White House Christmas tree in her own right, fueling soft-focus holiday coverage and hashtags like #ChristmasAtTheWhiteHouse trending on social platforms. On the political front, Trump continues to claim direct influence in international crises, telling reporters during a gaggle aboard Air Force One on November 25th that Ukraine and Russia peace negotiations have reached a critical stage, with US envoys and possibly Jared Kushner heading to Moscow for direct talks with President Putin. Trump suggested the parties have resolved 22 of 28 issues, while emphasizing that he has no fixed deadline and that “when it’s over” is the only timeline he’s setting. He cast himself once again as the indispensable dealmaker but admitted—perhaps for the first time—just how challenging ending this conflict has been. He reiterated, as he has frequently, that the war would never have started if he’d been president earlier, a refrain both widely covered and debated. On domestic policy, he touted Washington DC’s turnaround on crime and the economy, declaring the city “booming” after what he describes as urgent presidential interventions. Meanwhile, Fortune highlighted how his aggressive reshoring agenda—with high tariffs meant to boost factory jobs—is so far having the opposite effect, with US manufacturing posting job losses instead of gains and blue-collar workers voicing uncertainty about future opportunities. In a major policy move of wider historical consequence, Trump signed the executive order launching the Genesis Mission on November 24th, likened by the White House to a new “Manhattan Project” for artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to unite federal scientific resources, academic and business partners to supercharge AI-driven discovery, with goals stretching from advanced manufacturing to quantum science. It's a legacy-minded stroke, instantly generating headlines like “Trump Launches Historic Genesis Mission to Lead World in AI.” Trump also held several informal media sessions, including a walk-and-talk at Andrews Air Force Base where he announced plans to “reinstitute the golf courses,” mentioned a meeting with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, and alluded to deploying the National Guard in New York City “if needed.” Notably, he met with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House, a surprisingly affable session after a contentious campai This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.