Even if it would be 'good politically,' Trump won't be adopting a dog anytime soon

You'd think President Trump would love to have a golden retriever or orange tabby following him around the White House, but it looks like a first pet won't be joining the Trump family anytime soon.

During his rally Monday in El Paso, Trump acknowledged that people "love" dogs, and said he wouldn't mind having one, "but I don't have any time." Moments later, he admitted that the idea of him walking a dog on the White House lawn "feels a little phony," and while people have urged him to get one because it's "good politically," he has no interest. His daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, supports animal rescues, and ABC News reports she's the one who has been trying to get him to adopt a dog.

The Trumps are the first modern family in the White House to not have any pets. Barack Obama had Bo and Sunny, FDR had Fala, and Richard Nixon had Checkers, and even Trump's beloved Andrew Jackson had a pet parrot named Polly, who attended his funeral in 1845, but was reportedly kicked out because she wouldn't stop squawking profanities.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He might not want a dog, but Trump is fond of accusing people of behaving like one. When Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) lost the 2012 presidential race, Trump tweeted that he "choked like a dog," and he's mocked "Sloppy Steve Bannon," his former chief strategist, for being "dumped like a dog by almost everyone." Maybe if Trump actually did own a dog, he'd know that they are faithful creatures, and he would never have told actor Robert Pattinson in 2012 that Kristen Stewart "cheated on him like a dog & will do it again — just watch."