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US-POLITICS-BIDEN

Conan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/25/trump-honors-conan-military-dog-injured-baghdadi-raid/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">the military dog</a> is a good boy. Or is that a good girl?

A U.S. Army canine was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/10/28/with-tweet-photo-trump-feeds-intrigue-about-classified-military-dog-baghdadi-raid/?tid=lk_inline_manual_2" title="www.washingtonpost.com">injured in the raid</a> that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and now controversy has erupted in the least likely of places: between the hound’s hind legs. The <a href="https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/belgian-malinois/" title="www.akc.org">Belgian Malinois</a> garnered praise and plenty of pets for his/her/its service this week at a special Rose Garden gathering. Things immediately got weird.

“This is Conan, right now probably the world’s most famous dog,” President Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/zachjourno/status/1199027149484761093" title="twitter.com">announced</a>. “It’s trained that if you open your mouth, you will be attacked.”

First lady Melania Trump stood several feet away in a rose-adorned cloak.

“They were going to put a muzzle on the dog,” the president continued, “but then it gets even more violent.”

Vice President Pence scratched mechanically behind Conan’s ears.

“Conan is a tough cookie, and nobody’s going to mess with Conan,” said Trump. “You’re very lucky, because he’s not in a bad mood today.”

“It” had turned into “he” — and hours later, the White House <a href="https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/1199041601298927616" title="twitter.com">informed</a> reporters that “he” was actually “she.” Hours after that, the White House reinformed reporters that “she” was “he” after all. This parade of revolving pronouns continued well into Tuesday. Defense officials <a href="https://twitter.com/TerryMoran/status/1199374502431481858" title="twitter.com">first told</a> ABC that Conan was a girl, then hurried to <a href="https://twitter.com/Elizabeth_McLau/status/1199376945596768257" title="twitter.com">tell ABC</a> <i>again</i> that Conan was in fact absolutely a boy, and that they had “triple checked.” Finally, the Pentagon issued an official <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/us/mystery-solved-delta-force-dog-conan-is-indeed-a-good-boy-not-girl-1.608822" title="www.stripes.com">statement</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ellievhall/status/1199383358675050496" title="twitter.com">that</a> “per U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Conan is a male dog.”<span> </span>

President Trump, in other words, was right.

Call them cynics, or call them skeptics, or call them everyday people <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/disaster-in-the-time-of-trump" title="www.buzzfeednews.com">stumbling around a landscape</a> of dissimulation and conspiracy theories emitted from the highest echelons of government — but plenty of people didn’t really buy it.

It was only the day before that the administration had produced <a href="https://twitter.com/EricColumbus/status/1199375022747463681" title="twitter.com">three divergent stories</a> to account for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/11/24/pentagon-chief-asks-navy-secretarys-resignation-over-private-proposal-navy-seals-case/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">ouster</a> of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer over the war crimes case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. It was only last week that Trump erupted with a constant flow of lies about Ukraine as impeachment hearings proceeded in the House of Representatives. It was the first day of his presidency that then-press secretary Sean Spicer <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/22/spicer-earns-four-pinocchios-for-a-series-of-false-claims-on-inauguration-crowd-size/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">detailed</a>, contrary to all available facts, “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.”

Oh, and there was this: The president had <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188909031403900928/photo/1" title="twitter.com">tweeted</a> a photo weeks ago that heralded the declassification of the pup’s identity with a prime view of its nether regions. Fido, at least to this laywoman’s eyes, does look like more of a Fida. Was it really possible that an administration apparatchik had sent a girl dog into a memory hole from which it emerged a guy dog, purely to preserve the president’s ego? And should we freak out if the answer is yes?

This story is more than just a little example of a big thing: that civilians can’t count on a straightforward answer to a straightforward question, that trust in government is crumbling, that Thanksgiving approaches with less to be thankful for than to fear. It’s a sign that something really is changing in the way we relate to each other, because animal stories are supposed to bring us together — like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrn6A-VvETU" title="www.youtube.com">Fiona</a> the premature baby hippo’s adorable lumber toward good health, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQi-zLyasms" title="www.youtube.com">April</a> the Giraffe’s long-awaited birth, or an elephant doing pretty much anything.

That was the point of Conan in the first place. It was probably dumb, and it was definitely a distraction, but it was also difficult not to smile at the proud pooch no matter how you felt about policy in the Middle East, or at the declassification of its identity no matter how you felt about the White House’s refusal to be so forthcoming with witnesses or documents or anything else that would require a modicum of transparency.

War stories usually get bipartisan buy-in, too — which might explain why Trump was so pro-Conan even when as a general matter he is far from pro-dog, except as a convenient all-purpose insult for his enemies. Former counselor Stephen K. Bannon was “dumped like a dog by almost everyone,” while then-chief of staff John F. Kelly got <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1029329583672307712?lang=en" title="twitter.com">accolades</a> for “quickly firing that dog” Omarosa Manigault Newman. Conan, though? “This is the ultimate fighter, ultimate everything,” the president claimed as the canine gazed dopily up at its handler.

This was apple pie. It was the World Series. It was the sort of thing that CNN was just as liable to splash across a chyron on a slow day as Fox News was. It was a hero dog, for gosh’s sake. Now it’s another absurdity from an administration full of them, and another reason to worry about what we’ve lost.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-am-thankful-for-one-hero-dog-two-pardoned-turkeys-and-ending-animal-cruelty/2019/11/26/108d88f4-1098-11ea-b0fc-62cc38411ebb_story.html" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Kathleen Parker: I am thankful for one hero dog, two pardoned turkeys and ending animal cruelty</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/conan-the-dog-is-a-hero-but-trump-is-using-him-for-attention/2019/11/01/3b62931e-fceb-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Kathleen Parker: Conan the dog is a hero. But Trump is using the canine for attention.</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/12/whats-up-with-trump-dogs/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Molly Roberts: What’s up with Trump and dogs?</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/28/al-baghdadis-death-could-have-been-trumps-finest-hour-he-messed-it-up-anyway/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Max Boot: Baghdadi’s death could have been Trump’s finest hour. He messed it up anyway.</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-is-making-wins-like-the-baghdadi-raid-much-harder-to-come-by/2019/10/28/028f8efc-f99e-11e9-8190-6be4deb56e01_story.html" title="www.washingtonpost.com">The Post’s View: The Baghdadi raid is a success that may be unrepeatable</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/29/this-is-exactly-how-attack-an-inept-commander-chief/" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Jennifer Rubin: This is exactly how to attack an inept commander in chief</a>

Harvard College, BA in English

Molly Roberts writes about technology and society for The Post's Opinions section.

Molly Roberts

The Washington Post

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