Did Barron Trump really get a new puppy named Patton to bring with him to the White House? A search for “ Barron puppy Patton ” on Facebook would certainly make it seem like he did as of Thursday, June 15. However, this is one viral story that has many of the hallmarks of fake news, perhaps with a little bit of truth thrown in for good measure.
Despite headlines proclaiming “Meet The First Puppy – Look Who Barron Brought To White House For The Official New Pet,” which were shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook, there’s more to this dog story. According to the Daily Mail , a woman named Lois Pope, who is a longtime friend of President Trump’s, said she does have a puppy named Patton that she showed a photo of to President Trump last Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago. That’s when Lois said President Trump told her to show the photo to Barron, with Mr. Trump proclaiming Barron would fall in love with the puppy Patton.
When Pope showed the photo to Barron, he reportedly did fall in love with the puppy. However, while Lois was sure the puppy will make it into the White House, according to the Washington Post, the White House did not confirm whether or not the half golden retriever, half poodle will ultimately belong to Barron and move into the White House. In fact, Lois ended up taking away her offer to give Patton to Barron, as reported by the New York Post . But the fake news stories have surged once more on Facebook.
Meet Patton the Goldendoodle. Will he become Trump’s first dog? https://t.co/pYhv4poMQc . A puppy for Barron !
— joyce*** (@joycealiceangst) December 7, 2016
Those facts haven’t stopped a lot of websites known for proliferating stories that claim Patton is Barron’s biggest love, calling Patton the First Puppy already. One such headline was shared more than 4,000 times on Facebook, with plenty of pomp and circumstance being made about Patton being named after the WWII general whom Trump admires.
The buzz about the supposed new puppy Barron received began months ago, with headlines shouting “Wonderful! Meet The First Puppy! Patton Is Barron’s Biggest Love!” getting nearly 1,000 shares on Facebook via one site, and about the same amount of shares via other websites. However, no major news organizations have reported Barron receiving a new puppy in the White House.
And unlike when former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama got dogs Sunny and Bo, there have been no official photos of Barron with the puppy Patton or any other dog as of this writing.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
