Politics - News Analysis

Trump Was Given a Goldendoodle As ‘First Pet’ For Barron — But Cancelled Because Trump Hates Dogs

Donald Trump is unlike his predecessors in a good many ways. This president seems to actually disdain presidential tradition. One way the president has broken with tradition is in his refusal to have a presidential pet.

Trump follows a long line of presidential dog lovers. In fact, a first pup has humanized the White House for decades.

President Trump has not added a presidential pup to the White House family. It is not for lack of trying that the White House is currently dog-less. Lois Pope has known Trump for years, her husband founded the National Enquirer. She is an 83-year-old philanthropist who lives in Florida where she has been a member of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort for 24 years.

Pope gave Trump and his son Barron a dog, at Mar-A-Lago, after much searching. The dog is a Goldendoodle named after the president’s favorite general, Patton. Pope explained, “I went through great trouble to find the perfect dog for Donald Trump,” she told Newsweek. “He would’ve been a perfect dog for any president.”

Despite her best efforts, it was not to be. President Trump reportedly told Pope he was just too busy for a dog. Pope was not disappointed, however, because she got to keep the “loveable giant pup” she had already fallen in love with.

While the president may not be fond of dogs, he is certainly fond of deriding people by calling them dogs. He has referred to foes as dogs countless times. Trump said Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) “Couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.” The president recycled the insult, saying the same about former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu and former New York Governor George Pataki.

He has claimed numerous public figures have been “fired like a dog!” He said that former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper choked “like dogs” when testifying before the Senate. He claimed Marco Rubio was “sweating like a dog,” and called David Axelrod, a former Obama administration adviser, a dog.

Trump even brought up dogs during his border rally in El Paso a few months ago.

He told his supporters in El Paso why the White House probably won’t have a dog while Trump is in office. The Washington Post reported:

The explanation came amid an extended riff about the superior abilities of German shepherds to sniff out drugs being smuggled across the border. “You do love your dogs, don’t you?” Trump said, as the crowd whistled and cheered. “I wouldn’t mind having one, honestly, but I don’t have any time. How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?”

The supporters seated behind the riser apparently thought that he would look great with a hound or two because they stood up and clapped. But Trump wasn’t having it.

“I don’t know, I don’t feel good,” he said. “Feels a little phony to me.” A lot of people had told him to get a dog because it would look good politically, he added, but he hadn’t felt the need because “that’s not the relationship I have with my people.”

Apparently in reference to something he heard from an audience member, the president added that Barack Obama had dogs with him at the White House.

For what it’s worth, Trump has plenty of time – maybe a dog could watch television with the him – and the White House staff could probably help with some of the other routine duties.

As for what this has to do with his “relationship” with his base, I’m not altogether sure.

meet the author

Nicole Hickman James is a lifelong Democrat and political activist who first cut her teeth as a teenager volunteering for Mike Dukakis’ presidential campaign. She has worked and volunteered for John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, HFA (Hillary For America), and Organizing For Action. She’s passionate about liberal and progressive causes and considers President Obama her favorite president ever. She holds her Bachelor’s from Boston College in Economics and her Master's from Columbia, also in Economics. When not working as a writer, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her three college-aged children.

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