At the White House Monday, President Trump and Vice President Pence, joined by First Lady Melania, honored Conan, the military service dog wounded in the October 26 U.S. raid in Syria that resulted in the suicide bomb death of cornered ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as Conan closed in on him in a dead-end tunnel. Trump said Conan was given a certificate and a plaque. Conan’s breed is Belgian Malinois.
For security reasons, Trump and Pence met privately at the White House with Special Forces soldiers involved the the raid.
Donald Trump introduces Conan, the military dog wounded in Baghdadi raid pic.twitter.com/JWs7nsDXlj
— Jérôme Cartillier (@jcartillier) November 25, 2019
Video via ABC News posted to Twitter in two parts:
NEW: Pres. Trump says Conan, dog injured in raid that led to the death of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi, has been given a medal and a plaque. https://t.co/JsAo4rT8TM pic.twitter.com/yzaZDw4vza
— ABC News (@ABC) November 25, 2019
NEW: President Trump honors Conan, the hero dog injured in the raid that led to the death of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi: "Conan did a fantastic job and we're very honored to have Conan here and to have given Conan a certificate and an award." https://t.co/Bqol3VEWS1 pic.twitter.com/0ZcImnpZIS
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 25, 2019
CBS’ Mark Knoller provided color commentary, “Pres told a reporter that Conan’s in a good mood today, so the reporter was safe. Conan seemed smitten with VP Pence, who continuously petted him during the appearance. Returning to the Oval Office, Pres laughed when a reporter asked if @POTUS might adopt Conan for Barron.”
Pres told a reporter that Conan's in a good mood today, so the reporter was safe. Conan seemed smitten with VP Pence, who continuously petted him during the appearance. Returning to the Oval Office, Pres laughed when a reporter asked if @POTUS might adopt Conan for Barron. pic.twitter.com/aqeTOvwQBa
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 25, 2019
"The dog is incredible," Pres said of Conan. Called Conan "a tough cookie. Nobody's gonna mess with Conan." Says he presented Conan with a medal and certificate for his heroic service. pic.twitter.com/imRHYIJK8e
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 25, 2019
The president also met with members of the Special Forces team that staged the raid on al-Baghdadi that led to his death. He said their identities must remain secret, but Conan was cleared for press coverage. Says Conan was injured in the raid, but had a swift recovery. pic.twitter.com/f9fPdCLgN5
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 25, 2019
Fox News Channel host and Trump friend Judge Jeanine Pirro was spotted in attendance by Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink.
https://twitter.com/justinsink/status/1199022017313423360
White House videos:
Welcome to the White House, Conan! pic.twitter.com/vUsdyqqcX7
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) November 25, 2019
Conan—America's "hero dog"—made an incredible recovery after the raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and is already back to work! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/P8CeNibe0l
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) November 25, 2019
Close up photos of Conan:
JUST NOW: Both @hunterw and I put the most important question of the day to hero dog Conan: “who’s a good boy?”
Conan, however, declined to answer. pic.twitter.com/kc4ssgbkzi
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) November 25, 2019
I think Democrats and Republicans can agree that #Conan looks rightfully proud of himself and is a very good boy! #woof pic.twitter.com/nf0Cc0WmW9
— GiGi (@GiGiMcK) November 25, 2019