It’s been six months since the Biden family’s dog Commander was removed from the White House, and now we are getting a better idea of just how bad the behavior was.
Newly released documents reveal there were at least two dozen incidents of the German Shepherd biting U.S. Secret Service agents at the White House and other locations in a nine-month span.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by the hosts of Ruthless – Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, and John Ashbrook – to discuss the newly uncovered information and the disrespect it demonstrates.
Dog Days
According to internal USSS documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, Commander had at least 24 biting incidents involving Secret Service personnel between October 2022 and July 2023.
The president and first lady got Commander as a puppy in December 2021. That corresponded to their other German Shepherd, Major, being moved out of the White House due to aggressive behavior. Commander was ultimately re-homed as well last fall due to biting incidents. “Commander finally got moved after all this public pressure,” Megyn noted. “But it turns out… it was much worse than we even knew.”
The biting events reported in the documents only involved the Secret Service – not the various instances of Commander attacking other White House staffers – but they did lead to policy changes. “The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present – please give lots of room,” an unnamed assistant special agent in charge of USSS’ Presidential Protective Division wrote in a June 2023 email. “We will continue to keep [redaction] in our sight but must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
Two of the more gruesome incidents detailed in the documents occurred in the summer of 2023. An agent was attacked on the left arm on June 15. The injury required stitches and the bleeding was so bad that it forced tours in the East Wing to be halted for 20 minutes for cleanup. “Can you imagine the terror,” Megyn asked. “The agents just have to sit back and take it.”
On July 29, Commander went after a different agent working on a temporary assignment at the Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The dog was apparently loose in the backyard when he bit the agent in the left forearm. The bite created a “severe deep open wound” that led to significant blood loss. The agent received six stitches and antibiotics for the wound.
‘Totally Heartless’
Megyn noted that the Bidens have reportedly apologized to those who were bitten and sent flowers to some of them. “Just a nice bouquet – that’ll take care of the arm,” Holmes quipped.
While the Secret Service is obviously used to being under threat, it’s hard to imagine these agents knew what they were in for with the Biden dogs. “These guys are supposed to be looking out for threats, like assassins and things like that,” Duncan said. “Their heads are constantly on a swivel, but little do they know the real threat is at their feet.”
While Megyn said she could understand how a few incidents might happen – especially with a new dog – she questioned how the casualties could reach several dozen without intervention. “It’s the White House. I’m sure the dog is there to be protective,” she said. “We knew that Commander… was very, very mean, but these people – Joe and Jill Biden, frankly – are totally heartless.”
Holmes agreed. “I guarantee you that this is the most mistreated [White House] staff in history,” he surmised. “Imagine just wrapping your mind around you’re going to live in a house where people work around you all the time and you’re like, ‘What we’re going to do is buy a timberwolf, we’re not going to train it at all, and then we’re going to set him loose.”
As the guys suggested, perhaps Commander was actually just mimicking the behavior of other members of the Biden family. “Commander clearly saw everything Hunter was getting away with and he was like, ‘I am going to find, by his example, my own way to act out,” Duncan joked.
While we don’t know where exactly the dog ended up, Holmes had a guess. “In related news, Commander is now part of the Burisma board.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Ruthless by tuning in to episode 729 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.