President Trump: Hero Dog Is Coming To The White House!

President Donald Trump announced Thursday morning that the hero dog who chased Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Conan, will actually make an appearance at the White House — and not just as the subject of a meme.

The President thanked the Daily Wire for a photshopped meme of the K-9 soldier, featuring Trump awarding Conan a modified “Medal of Honor” with a paw print on it, which went viral on Wednesday, setting off a media firestorm.

“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!” Trump tweeted.

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

The President’s social media missive also marks the first time the dog’s name has been publicly acknowledged, though it has appeared in some unofficial and background remarks from Defense Department officials. “Conan” is named for Conan O’Brien, the late night talk show host.

No calender item has been confirmed, but Trump’s tweet notes that Conan will be “leaving the Middle East” sometime this week and will visit the White House when he returns to the states.

“Conan was hurt during the mission after being exposed to live electrical wires while pursing Baghdadi through a tunnel underneath a compound in northwestern Syria, Gen. Frank McKenzie, who leads U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday,” according to Fox News. “The dog, who has worked with special operations forces for four years and taken part in about 50 missions, has since returned to active duty.”

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted a Daily Wire meme of the dog receiving a “Medal of Honor” with a paw print on it, igniting a firestorm among mainstream media figures, including CNN’s Jim Acosta, and several other reporters with major outlets, who scrambled to describe the photo as “doctored.”

AMERICAN HERO! pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2019

The Washington Post and the New York Times both did extensive investigations on the photo, calling the White House for comment and even contacting the Medal of Honor winner whose photo was edited to feature the dog, hoping, apparently, for a sound bite knocking the President.

The New York Times assigned two reporters to the effort, digging deep on what they called a “doctored image.”

President Trump on Wednesday shared a photograph from 2017 altered to show him placing a medal around the neck of the dog injured in the raid that led to the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State’s leader.https://t.co/XUWwq0b9Ie

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 30, 2019

The Washington Post reached out to the Daily Wire for comment, looking for “confirmation” that the photo originated with the Daily Wire’s social media team.

So, WaPo asked my business partner, @jeremydboreing, about our Medal of Honor dog meme. His glorious response is screencapped below. Their report then suggested Jeremy refused to answer questions about the picture. Um, no. We just think you’re being f***ing insane. pic.twitter.com/pEyOH96hEr

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 31, 2019

Oddly enough, the Washington Post did not print the Daily Wire’s official response, preferring, instead, to say that the Daily Wire’s Jeremy Boering “dismissed” the Post’s questions.

Voice of America pestered the White House for comment, determined to understand why they were not invited to the depicted “canine event” that turned out to be a joke photo. They later confirmed, as well, that the photo was “doctored.”

“I’ve requested details from the [White House] 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.”

CNN’s Jim Acosta also did some very important journalisming on the subject, adding that he had confirmed, “the dog is not at the WH.”