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

The Thanksgiving birds played their part Monday in an 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. But first, Biden — the oldest president in U.S. history — wanted to make light of his age.

“By the way, it’s my birthday today,” the president said, noting that guests with him in the Oval Office before the event sang “Happy Birthday.” “I just want you to know, it’s difficult turning 60. Difficult.”

He also noted that the presentation of a National Thanksgiving Turkey to the White House has been a tradition for more than seven decades.

“This is the 76th anniversary of this event, and I want you to know I wasn’t there ... for the first one,” Biden said.

The Democrat’s age has become an issue as he seeks reelection next year.

The birds overcame “some tough odds” to make it to the White House, Biden continued, saying “they had to work hard to show patience and be willing to travel over a thousand miles” from their home state of Minnesota.

Hundreds of guests, including Cabinet secretaries and White House staff who brought children, watched from the South Lawn. His granddaughter Maisy Biden watched from the sidelines with her half-brother Beau Biden.

Later Monday, military families joined Biden’s wife, first lady Jill Biden, as she accepted delivery of an 18.5-foot Fraser fir from the Cline Church Nursery in Fleetwood, N.C., as the White House Christmas tree.