American presidents love dogs. The optics are perfect: loyal, friendly, impossible to fact-check.
From White House photo ops to wartime morale, First Dogs have always helped sell the presidency.
And then came the no-dog presidency.
Which tells you … quite a lot about the presidency of Donald Trump and why so many Americans voted for him.
Robyn Curnow’s podcast, “Searching for America”, examines the US from her outsider perspective – as a South African living in the American South.
You can also watch the podcast on YouTube and sign up for her free weekly newsletter or Substack here.
Top image: Barack Obama with Bo (Gary Fabiano-Pool/Getty Images); Joe Biden with Champ and Major (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images); Donald Trump (Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images); George W Bush with Barney (Alex Wong/Getty Images).
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