Trump Posts Faked Photo Of Him Giving Medal To Hero Dog
A photo tweeted by Donald Trump on Wednesday is getting dogged by accusations that the pic is the very definition of fake news.
The image shows the president putting a medal around the neck of a Belgian Malinois credited with helping to capture and kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the so-called Islamic State.
AMERICAN HERO! pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2019
However, the photo didn’t really happen. Someone Photoshopped a picture of the hero dog over an Associated Press photo of 2017 Medal of Honor recipient James McCloughan, according to The Washington Post.
This side-by-side photo will show the similarities.
Although Trump tweeted the photo, it originated on the Instagram page of the conservative news outlet the Daily Wire.
The hero dog has never been to the White House and is back on duty despite being injured by an electric cable during an explosion, according to U.S. Central Command.
HuffPost reached out to the White House for comment on the decision to post a doctored photo, but no one immediately responded.
McCloughan seemed OK with being photoshopped out of a pic in order to honor the dog’s heroism.
The 73-year-old war hero told The New York Times that he interpreted the tweeted photo as the president recognizing the dog’s heroism and was not offended.
But many Twitter users had a bone to pick with the decision.
Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to James McCloughan. He was credited with saving the lives of 10 men in a brutal, battle in Vietnam.
Yesterday, Trump posted a photo of that moment with McCloughan’s image replaced by that of a dog.https://t.co/ZGQsVfp2gr— "Never Trumper" Island Girl 🏝🌺🌼🌻 (@DearGoodPeople) October 30, 2019
If Barack Obama had done this, GOP leadership would call for him to be censured by the House. And yet...
Trump tweeted a photo of a Medal of Honor recipient — who was edited out and replaced by a dog https://t.co/WfsNsYKoQM— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) October 30, 2019
What offends me most about the faked dog photo, somehow, is that I’m being asked to believe that a dog would be that comfortable in the presence of Donald Trump.
— Bilal, in a costume made of medical bills (@bilald) October 30, 2019
I'm so sick and tired of People saying Trump does not like Dogs. He's owned lap dogs for years. A couple of Shitzus. pic.twitter.com/xUE302RgYw
— IDG (@Richard06327523) October 30, 2019
3/ #iNews9K NEWS FROM TOMORROW: Trump issues executive order changing dog's name to Sharpie. https://t.co/lqRTO61n91
— David F. Soros (@WiselinePRT) October 30, 2019
I just don’t understand the point of this. I get why the dog is being honored, but why the photoshopping? Why, @WhiteHouse? Why?😫
Why give Trump critics in the press the fodder? Dumb move, IMO.🤦♀️ https://t.co/t2tdlTtRNE— Christi Stevens (@christi_stevens) October 30, 2019
This story has been updated with James McCloughan’s opinion of the doctored photo.
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