Conan the hero dog's gender is now a matter for the Pentagon
The Pentagon is now weighing in with an official statement to confirm a dog's gender.
President Trump on Monday praised Conan, the military dog who was injured during the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month, at the White House, referring to Conan as male. But White House officials subsequently confused everyone by clarifying that Conan is actually a female dog, and then clarifying again hours later that actually, no, he's male.
If you thought the confusion over what gender a dog is couldn't possibly be a story spanning two days, you'd be wrong, as on Tuesday morning, a Pentagon official told ABC News that Conan is actually female — only for the White House to maintain that no, really, Conan is male.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Perhaps the single most important story of our time finally came to a conclusion with a fifth update in the form of a statement from the Pentagon to BuzzFeed News confirming that, yes, Conan is male, meaning that after about a full 24 hours, we arrive back at exactly the same place we started and this has been a great use of everyone's time. Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Will Trump’s 10% credit card rate limit actually help consumers?Today's Big Question Banks say they would pull back on credit
-
3 smart financial habits to incorporate in 2026the explainer Make your money work for you, instead of the other way around
-
‘The surest way to shorten our lives even more is to scare us about sleep’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
