During an Oval Office event focused on border security, President Donald Trump talked about the effectiveness and abilities of trained dogs, The Hill reports.
One of the reporters covering Trump’s Oval Office address via Twitter , Aaron Rupar, described it as a “bizarre rant.”
The president was apparently trying to argue that dogs help Border Patrol officers prevent illicit drugs from entering the United States.
Trump began the rant by touting “incredible” new equipment Border Patrol officers are now able to use, but then went on to argue that high-tech equipment is not nearly as effective as dogs are.
“Also, we’re getting dogs. More dogs, believe it or not. I still say — is that still true? There’s nothing [that] replaces a good dog. Is that right? So, we’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on equipment, but I will say this: It’s not as good as the dogs,” he said.
“We’re getting a lot of dogs,” Trump continued.
According to The Hill , Trump looked around the room, seeking approval from law enforcement officials present at the meeting.
But this was only the beginning of his rant about dogs. The president went on to praise the animals, sharing a story about German shepherds.
Trump, he recounted, saw German shepherds in action with the Secret Service. Clearly impressed with the dogs’ ability to snuff out illicit substances, the president touted the German shepherds’ ability to snuff out drugs even in “very, very strongly sealed boxes.”
“I’ve seen out at Secret Service, where they showed me the dogs, certain types of German Shepherd — very specific types of dog. But what they do is they’ll run by 15 boxes, all empty except one. They know the drugs are in that box. It’s the most incredible thing.”
As The Hill notes, Trump’s rant about dogs came as he vetoed a resolution to block his national emergency declaration. An immigration hardliner, Trump has long claimed that there is a “crisis” at the southern border that needs to be dealt with. The president plans on dealing with the crisis by building a wall, and therefore fulfilling one of his key 2016 campaign promises.
As CNN pointed out, this is President Donald Trump’s first veto. While speaking about the veto, Trump was surrounded by Customs and Border Protection officials and family members of individuals whose lives were taken away by undocumented immigrants.
The vast majority of Democratic politicians and some Republicans criticized the president’s decision to declare a national emergency. The Justice Department, however, defended Trump.
The veto sent the bipartisan resolution back to the House of Representatives, which is not expected to have the support necessary to override it, according to CNN .
Erin Burnett: Trump’s “invasion” talk in aftermath of New Zealand massacre is “just white supremacy” https://t.co/Y1vMJT7UAi
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 16, 2019
Earlier today, as Esquire reported, Trump warned of an immigrant “invasion,” prompting some to accuse him of echoing white supremacist rhetoric.
The president’s comments came in the aftermath of the New Zealand mosque shootings. The perpetrator used similar phrases in his “manifesto.”
