In a surprise appearance Monday in the Rose Garden, President Trump honored Conan the dog, who he hailed last month for his involvement in the lethal raid of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A White House pool report Monday said that the “White House just told everyone to gather at the Palm Room doors for an ‘open press event.'” Nothing was publicly scheduled at that time.
The pool report added that White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere initially kept the details of the appearance vague, telling reporters: “remain as calm as possible” because “there is going to be an animal that comes out” for this event.
Appearing alongside Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump, the President bragged about how Conan did “a fantastic job” and deserves a “certificate and an award we’ll put up in the White House.”
“This is a special time for Conan and we really appreciated it. I was told about the breed. I was told about Conan himself and Conan is a tough cookie and nobody is going to mess with this dog,” Trump said. “So what chance with Conan, I got to see how fast Conan can move. What chance would a strong man have, really strong fighter, what chance would this person have against Conan without the guns? What chance?”
Watch Trump’s remarks below:
Trump: "Conan is a tough cookie" pic.twitter.com/RcV15o3BoU
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 25, 2019
