 Commander in 2022 | |
| Breed | German Shepherd |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Born | September 1, 2021 |
| Known for | United States presidential pet |
| Term | December 20, 2021 – October 5, 2023 |
| Predecessor | Champ and Major |
| Owner | Biden family |
Commander (born September 1, 2021) is a German Shepherd owned by President of the United States Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
Commander was a birthday gift to Joe Biden from James and Sara Biden, his brother and sister-in-law. [1] Commander first came to the White House on December 20, 2021. [2] [3] That same day, Major, another dog owned by the Biden family, was removed from the White House following several biting incidents. [4] [5] On February 13, 2022, Commander made his TV debut in the program Puppy Bowl XVIII . [6]
On June 15, 2023, Commander raced toward a secret service agent and lunged at him, causing a "deep bite" on the left arm that was reported to have needed stitches. "East Wing Tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to blood from the incident being on the floors in the area of the Book-sellers," a hall in the White House, one document reported. [7] Records released on July 25, 2023, by Judicial Watch showed that Commander bit or attacked Secret Service agents at least 10 times between October 2022 and July 2023. [8] Commander was involved in an eleventh biting incident on September 26. [9] [10] Commander also bit White House superintendent Dale Haney, who has taken responsibility for walking presidential dogs since the presidency of Richard Nixon, on September 13, 2023, in an incident that was photographed by a tourist and subsequently received media attention. [11] [12]
On October 5, 2023, it was announced that Commander was moving out of the White House due to the numerous biting incidents. [13] CNN later reported that there were at least 24 such events. [14]
In her 2024 autobiography, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem suggested that Commander should be killed, calling him "dangerous and unpredictable". [15] [16]
Most United States presidents have kept pets while in office, or pets have been part of their families. Only James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump did not have any presidential pets while in office.
The phrase man bites dog is a shortened version of an aphorism in journalism that describes how an unusual, infrequent event is more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence with similar consequences, such as a dog biting a man.
The nuclear football is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the president of the United States to communicate and authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room or the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Functioning as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of the United States, the football is carried by a military aide when the president is traveling.
Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden is an American educator who has been the first lady of the United States since 2021 as the wife of President Joe Biden. She was the second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 when her husband was vice president. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College, and is believed to be the first wife of a vice president or president to hold a salaried job during the majority of her husband's tenure.
Robert Hunter Biden is an American attorney and businessman. He is the second son of U.S. President Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. Biden was a founding board member of BHR Partners, a Chinese investment company, in 2013, and later served on the board of Burisma Holdings, one of the largest private natural gas producers in Ukraine, from 2014 until his term expired in April 2019. He has worked as a lobbyist and legal representative for lobbying firms, a hedge fund principal, and a venture capital and private equity fund investor.
Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States, has family members who are prominent in law, education, activism and politics. Biden's immediate family became the first family of the United States on his inauguration on January 20, 2021. His immediate family circle was also the second family of the United States from 2009 to 2017, when Biden was vice president. Biden's family is mostly descended from the British Isles, with most of their ancestors coming from Ireland and England, and a smaller number descending from the French.
Jennifer Rene Psaki is an American television political analyst and former government official. A political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations, she served the Biden administration as the 34th White House press secretary until May 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Obama administration as the White House deputy press secretary (2009); the White House deputy communications director (2009–2011); the spokesperson for the United States Department of State (2013–2015); and the White House communications director (2015–2017). Psaki was a political contributor for CNN from 2017 to 2020. As of March 2023, she hosts the talk-show Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC.
Kristi Lynn Noem is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019, and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011.
Mark Alexander Milley is a retired United States Army general who served as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2023. He had previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015, to August 9, 2019 and held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces.
John F. Kirby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral serving as White House National Security Communications Advisor since 2022. He previously served in the Biden administration as Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2021 to 2022. He worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. He served in the Obama administration as Pentagon Press Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2015 to 2017.
Kaitlan Collins is an American journalist who is a news anchor on CNN. She is the former co-anchor of CNN This Morning. She has hosted The Source at 9 p.m. since July 2023. She also served as the network's Chief White House Correspondent from January 2021 until November 2022. Previously, she was the White House correspondent for the website The Daily Caller.
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party. Upon his inauguration, he became the oldest president in American history, breaking the record set by Ronald Reagan. Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and increased political polarization. He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health. He is to be succeeded by Trump in January 2025, who won the aforementioned election.
Champ was a German Shepherd owned by Joe Biden's family. He joined them in living at the White House in 2021. Champ was the older of the two German Shepherds the Bidens owned at the start of his presidency. The younger German Shepherd was Major.
Major is a German Shepherd owned by Joe Biden's family. Major, who was born in 2018, is the first shelter dog to live in the White House. Previously, President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie had owned two German Shepherds.
Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, has been in the national spotlight for over half a century, ever since he won his first election to the United States Senate in 1972. Biden is seen as a figure with the tendency to commit gaffes. His capacity for empathy has been noted, as has his tendency for exaggeration. Biden's approval ratings as president started strong, but declined after the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021. As the oldest president in US history, Biden's age and health have been the subject of discussion, with some polls finding the issue a subject of concern to a significant majority of Americans. A long-standing parody of Biden by The Onion, popular during his time as Barack Obama's vice president, is thought by some to have contributed positively to his public image.
Major, a German Shepherd, was a presidential pet belonging to United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Joe Biden during the fourth and last quarter of 2021, from October 1 to December 31, 2021. To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Joe Biden presidency.
Dale Haney is an American gardener who is the superintendent of the White House grounds. In 2022, he celebrated his 50th anniversary tending to the 18 acres of White House gardens and grounds. He has also taken responsibility to walk presidential dogs from Richard Nixon's Irish Setter King Timahoe to Joe Biden's German Shepherd Commander.
Media related to Commander (dog) at Wikimedia Commons