Melania Trump was present in the White House Situation Room watching a U.S. raid that led to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to a new book.
The former first lady was seated among high-ranking officials watching the October 2019 raid and then suggested playing up the role of a combat dog named Conan, who cornered al-Baghdadi before the ISIS commander blew himself up with an explosive vest, killing two of his wives and two of his children, according to excerpts from a memoir by former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller published by The Hill.
“You should talk about the dog,” Melania Trump told her husband, according to Miller’s account. “Everyone loves dogs.”
Then-president Donald Trump praised the dog as "wonderful" and "talented," and he honored Conan the following month at a White House ceremony.
Miller said he was surprised to see the first lady sitting with the president, Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
“Her presence was unexpected, to say the least,” Miller wrote. “I wondered how it would play in the press if word got out that the first lady had popped in to watch a major military operation.”
