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A canine who's named Conan was injured during the recent U.S. Forces raid that led to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Well wishes poured in for the pooch, who has since fully recovered and returned to duty.
With the dog making national headlines, Trump declassified a photo of the pup, and now he's jokingly used the photo in a bizarre tweet.
The photoshopped tweet, originally from Conservative media outlet The Daily Wire, shows Trump placing a paw print-emblazoned Presidential Medal of Honor around the dog.
AMERICAN HERO! https://t.co/XCCa2sGfsZ— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1572458054.0
So if no ceremony occurred, where did the photo come from?
Vietnam veteran James McCloughan's Medal of Honor presentation was used. The Army veteran's face was superimposed with the dog.
Then shared by the President.
@WhiteHouse @POTUS Photoshopped from the first Medal of Honor @realDonaldTrump awarded (to James McCloughan of the… https://t.co/0ma12w5Ytp— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman)1572460746.0
It's unclear if Trump ever shared the real photo of McCloughan receiving his medal from his personal Twitter account. A Twitter search failed to find a post by the President's personal account honoring James McCloughan.
People found the slight offensive.
@realDonaldTrump Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to James McCloughan. He was credited with saving the lives of 10… https://t.co/qJt86fk2Xr— "Never Trumper" Island Girl 🏝🌺🌼🌻 (@"Never Trumper" Island Girl 🏝🌺🌼🌻)1572468877.0
@WhiteHouse @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @USArmy https://t.co/0e6R215cLv— Steve Herman (@Steve Herman)1572461140.0
The photo President Trump shared seemed to be an altered version of a 2017 photo of James McCloughan receiving a Me… https://t.co/5orKdrluMJ— The New York Times (@The New York Times)1572471798.0
James McCloughan ran through VietCong gunfire for 2 days, saving 10 men, taking shrapnel from a rocket-propelled gr… https://t.co/bJ8lm3qZ2P— David Freedlander (@David Freedlander)1572472310.0
Weird flex but Medal of Honor recipient James McCloughan was photoshopped out of a photo and replaced by a dog in a… https://t.co/fJhF7JA9M5— Alex Horton (@Alex Horton)1572465749.0
@freedlander @brooklynmarie How. Are. They. So. Bad. At. Literally. Everything?!?!— Adrian Wapcaplet, Human Scum (@Adrian Wapcaplet, Human Scum)1572475359.0
@freedlander @maggieNYT By a man who had bone spurs.— Bogue (@Bogue)1572475314.0
@Real___Eric @freedlander @maggieNYT And yet the only two trump supporters I know are veterans. They shrug off him… https://t.co/SGHcNcZcG8— Steven Haines (@Steven Haines)1572481633.0
@cathyob1 @freedlander All Americans should be.— Jill I Dippman (@Jill I Dippman)1572492919.0
If Barack Obama had done this, GOP leadership would call for him to be censured by the House. And yet... Trump twe… https://t.co/97kBXeGW3w— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈)1572467517.0
McCloughan, 73, had not seen the photoshopped photo until asked about it by a reporter.
The Vietnam veteran said military service dogs are very heroic and didn't mind being replaced if it was to honor the dog.
Trump later credited The Daily Wire and announced that Conan would soon be coming to the White House.
Thank you Daily Wire. Very cute recreation, but the “live” version of Conan will be leaving the Middle East for the… https://t.co/GWADpA6Rvm— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1572496564.0
While the tweet of a faked photo and medal ceremony itself is rather innocuous by Trump's standards, people couldn't help but troll him for it.
@DrDenaGrayson @realDonaldTrump This is more likely... https://t.co/RJT5x6OGxU— Tarquin (@Tarquin)1572472149.0
@realDonaldTrump AMERICAN FAILURE! https://t.co/5msdVULBdR— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE)1572460915.0
@realDonaldTrump https://t.co/yxoWCTXSwD— Born Miserable (@Born Miserable)1572461956.0
Others pointed out Trump's disdain for dogs.
@realDonaldTrump Is photoshop the closest you’ll get near a dog? 🐶— Santa Claus, CEO (@Santa Claus, CEO)1572458262.0
@realDonaldTrump This hero pup was raised to protect us, so Trump had to photoshop this picture because the dog would bite him.— Nick Jack o'Lantern Pappas (@Nick Jack o'Lantern Pappas)1572458329.0
@realDonaldTrump President Scared Of Dogs— A.R. Moxon (Julius Ghost) (@A.R. Moxon (Julius Ghost))1572461698.0
@suzqh55 @freedlander @maggieNYT My people. Eagles know what's up too. https://t.co/VIeY7MJt9B— Ollie barks@corruption (@Ollie barks@corruption)1572480095.0
McCloughan is right, however.
Conan is an American hero.
Nothing done by anyone, even the Commander in Chief, should diminish the heroism of James McCloughan or Conan.
Dogs have been companions to warriors for millennia. They're also popular in cinema.
The fictional films Max and Max 2 about a retired military service dog are available here. And the film Megan Leavey based on the true story of a military service dog and their handler is available here.