The dogphobia of Donald Trump

The President is having a ruff time

dognald trump dogphobia dog
US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in El Paso, Texas on February 11, 2019. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

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Donald Trump doesn’t want a dog, for fear of looking phony, he says. But Cockburn can’t help wondering if there isn’t a deeper neurosis here. The president, it seems, is a dogphobe. He once was reported to have said ‘I never understood why people like dogs. Dogs are disgusting’ — though Snopes declared that fake news.

Trump does however seem to have a strange canine preoccupation. He has used the word ‘dog’ over 40 times on Twitter. He employs the formulation ‘like a dog’ with particular regularity — often, misusing the dog simile.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/589251220000403456

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/715013260462960642

Are dogs thrown off TV?

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/677339850752806912

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/291568395621634049

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/702141081027104769

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/652150749082746881

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/620391296251916288

Do…

Donald Trump doesn’t want a dog, for fear of looking phony, he says. But Cockburn can’t help wondering if there isn’t a deeper neurosis here. The president, it seems, is a dogphobe. He once was reported to have said ‘I never understood why people like dogs. Dogs are disgusting’ — though Snopes declared that fake news.

Trump does however seem to have a strange canine preoccupation. He has used the word ‘dog’ over 40 times on Twitter. He employs the formulation ‘like a dog’ with particular regularity — often, misusing the dog simile.

Are dogs thrown off TV?

Do dogs get fired?

Are dogs unfaithful? Cockburn thought famously that wasn’t the case…

Do dogs get dumped?

And, Cockburn’s favorite,

He’s also displayed a predilection for comparing women to dogs (though incidentally has only tweeted the word ‘bitch’ twice, when quoting someone else):

And he loves to say how unsuccessful politicians ‘couldn’t get elected dog catcher’.

There is a clear pattern here. Cockburn wonders: was the President bitten by a dog as a child? Or did — horror of horrors — a dog ask young Donald for money?

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