Every dog has his day.
For the canine involved in the killing of radical Islamic terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, that day is coming soon.
President Donald Trump tweeted that the military working dog injured in the raid last weekend that killed the Islamic State leader will leave the Middle East for the White House sometime next week.
And the president appears to have declassified the dog’s name: Conan, a male Belgian Malinois named after comedian Conan O’Brien.
In announcing the impending visit, Trump again posted an altered image of him presenting a medal to the dog. The Daily Wire had created the cute image by taking an Associated Press photo of an actual medal presentation by Trump and added the canine hero.
“Thank you Daily Wire,” Trump tweeted after midnight Wednesday. “Very cute recreation, but the ‘live’ version of Conan will be leaving the Middle East for the White House sometime next week!”
Thank you Daily Wire. Very cute recreation, but the “live” version of Conan will be leaving the Middle East for the White House sometime next week! https://t.co/Z1UfhxsSpT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2019
And of course, Trump’s little moment of humor was noticed by some members of the liberal media — and they took it so seriously that anti-Trump journalists went out of their way to report that Trump tweeted a photoshopped image.
… even though he knowingly did so.
Steve Herman, of news outlet The Voice of America News, demanded answers.
“I’ve requested details from the @WhiteHouse on this photo,” Herman wrote. “There was no such canine event on today’s @POTUS schedule.”
I've requested details from the @WhiteHouse on this photo.
There was no such canine event on today's @POTUS schedule but there is a Medal of Honor ceremony set here for later today for an active duty Green Beret. https://t.co/NESINT9J4b— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 30, 2019
Conan was hurt after being exposed to live electrical cables but has returned to active duty, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, who leads U.S. Central Command, told reporters the dog was injured when it came in contact with the cables as it pursued al-Baghdadi in a tunnel underneath a compound in northwestern Syria.
McKenzie said the dog has worked with special operations forces for four years and taken part in about 50 missions. He said such working dogs are “critical members of our forces.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article