CNN breathlessly filed a report Monday on how both of President Joe Biden’s dogs – Champ and Major – were removed from the White House last week after an alleged “biting incident” involving Major, the younger of the two dogs, and someone from the White House’s security team.
According to the Biden apologist network, the “exact condition of the victim is unknown.” Major’s aggressiveness was “serious enough”, however, that it prompted the eviction of both dogs. They have been moved to the Biden family home in Delaware, where they are said to sometimes be placed when First Lady Jill Biden is traveling.
The two German Shepherds belonging to President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were returned to the Biden family home in Delaware last week after aggressive behavior at the WH involving Major Biden, two sources with knowledge tell CNN’s @KateBennett_DC.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) March 9, 2021
When I initially heard about this story, my first thought was “meh.” I mean I hope the person injured in the incident is okay but my first impression was that this story, like most of the other “reports” mainstream media outlets have done about the First Dogs, did not rise to the level of a major story (no pun nor slight intended towards Major Biden).
What made me take a second look at it, however, was when I read how the White House was not commenting on this, the most inarguably benign of stories about something that happened at the White House involving one of their dogs and someone who is presumably a security guard or Secret Service agent:
Can you imagine the media coverage if it was President Trump’s dog who bit a member of White House security (“condition unknown”) frequently “charged" at staff, got sent home quietly last week… and then the White House refused to comment?https://t.co/eHy8tTBD9n pic.twitter.com/EeDUGjM0OF
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) March 9, 2021
And then I watched White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s answer to a hard-hitting (not) question from MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski about what reportedly happened, and it reminded me of the continued transparency issues and all the times Psaki has dodged and weaved over the last several weeks when reporters have asked when Biden’s first formal solo press conference would be:
“I don’t have any updates on reports about an incident but what I can tell you…is that Major and Champ are part of the Biden’s family. They often go to Delaware when the first lady is traveling. And they’re adjusting to their new home," says @PressSec pic.twitter.com/LWu4c2v0Ms
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 9, 2021
So we’ve gone from an anonymously sourced article where “no comment” was given to “I don’t have any updates” from the White House on a friggin’ story about the White House dogs? So much for the most transparent administration ever, I guess.
The WH won't even disclose a dog biting incident much less let the old man talk to the media without pre screened questions. Transparency is back. https://t.co/6vrz7ujWy8
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 9, 2021
She can’t even be honest about a dog getting sent back home… 🤦🏼Come on. This is easy. “Yes, there were no injuries but the Biden family felt it was in the best interests of the dog to take him back to Delaware and out of the stressful environment of DC.”
— Valley Bulldog (@ValleyBulldog18) March 9, 2021
Right? I mean, is giving a straight, on the record answer to a story like this, maybe from Biden himself, really all that complicated? It shouldn’t be. But for a White House staff that keeps the president encased in bubble wrap and hiding in the basement as much as possible because unleashing him prompts even more speculation about his fitness to lead, I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised.
Concerned and outraged, yes, but not surprised.
Related: Jen Psaki Is Asked About Media Access to Joe Biden and Her Answer Suggests Things Aren’t Well
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