Speaking at a rally in Mississippi on Friday night, President Donald Trump specifically focused on a dog that took part in last week’s US special operations raid near the Syria-Turkey border to take out top Daesh terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“Actually, and I’m happy about this, Conan the dog got more publicity than me and I’m very happy about that,” Trump said.
He also pointed to the fact that the story of the successful raid “disappeared so fast” and that he “didn’t do it for the story” to be covered by the media.
“I did it because it’s the right thing to do,” Trump pointed out, praising the US troops for the successful operation.
“American special operators executed a masterful raid that ended his wretched life and punched out his ticket to hell, I guess you could say,” he said, referring to al-Baghdadi.
Trump underscored that “no enemy stands a chance against the righteous might” of the US military, reiterating that the Daesh leader was “cowering and trembling and crying in fear of the American warrior” before he was killed.
His remarks come after he revealed the name of the dog that was wounded during the last Sunday raid earlier this week, when Trump tweeted that “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
POTUS commented on his previous tweet, in which he shared a doctored photograph that depicted him bestowing a medal on the dog touted by Trump as an “American hero”.
Trump Touts Conan the Dog as 'Talented' Canine
The canine featured in Trump’s announcement of Baghdadi's death last Sunday, when he heaped praise on the "beautiful" and "talented" dog for its heroism, noting that no US service members were hurt or killed in the operation.
We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi! pic.twitter.com/PDMx9nZWvw
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2019
The dog, a Belgian Malinois, was sent into a tunnel to subdue Baghdadi during the raid on a compound in Syria. The Daesh leader, however, detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children and wounding the animal.
CBS News, meanwhile, cited an unnamed senior US official as saying that the Trump administration is "working on" arrangements for the dog to visit the White House, but added that it might be difficult since the canine is "back at work" in the field.
*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State), a terrorist group banned in Russia and a number of other countries
