Biden Bites

M any people complain that Donald Trump has often avoided accountability for his actions. But there is a real argument that — barring, perhaps, this November’s election — President Joe Biden hasn’t done too bad himself.

Last Wednesday, Biden complained that his original plan to “provide millions of working families with debt relief for their college student debt” was derailed by “special interests” who challenged the plan in court. “The Supreme Court blocked it, but that didn’t stop me,” he boasted. He then announced that he was unilaterally writing off another $1.2 billion in debt. As the Wall Street Journal noted, “he apparently thinks defying the law is a virtue.”

But Biden’s lack of accountability can also be found much closer to home — inside the White House itself.

New Freedom of Information Act disclosures reveal that President Biden’s two-year-old German shepherd, Commander, bit Secret Service agents at least 23 times in just the nine months between October 2022 and July 2023. Members of the Secret Service were bitten on the wrist, forearm, elbow, waist, chest, thigh, and shoulder. Those bites included at least one that required hospital treatment, others that required attention from the White House Medical Unit, and some that went unreported and untreated.

Members of the executive residence staff and other White House workers and staffers at Camp David, the presidential retreat, were also bitten an unknown number of times.

In one incident, the White House’s “biter in chief” tore into a Secret Service agent so badly that he needed six stitches. The bite caused a “severe deep open wound” and the agent “started to lose a significant amount of blood.” Tours of the White House had to be briefly stopped because of the blood on the floor. The agent was given a “small care package” by colleagues, including painkillers, antibiotic ointment, pepper spray, a muzzle, and dog biscuits, “for safety purposes.”

Many of the bites happened when Commander and Major, Biden’s other German shepherd, were allowed to roam freely without a leash. An unnamed senior agent told agents in one email that they “must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.” He suggested agents “give lots of room” to the Biden dogs, a tactic that could in theory reduce presidential security. Only months after that advice — in October of last year — was Commander finally removed from the White House, joining Major, who had been exiled earlier.

Ryan Bulson, co-owner of Maryland-based Mason Dixon K9 Dog Training, told the Washington Post that laws clearly mandate dog owners report bites to health departments and quarantine the dog, but they were ignored by the White House. He said he had never heard of a dog being responsible for so many bites.

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, says President Biden could be sued for the dozens of times his dogs have bitten Secret Service agents and others:

I have taught torts for three decades, including animal liability. In that time, I have never come across a case with such a long history of dog attacks from multiple animals in one family. . . . If these attacks were litigated, I have little doubt that the Bidens would be held liable if they were an average family. Indeed, I would expect a court to seriously consider an order barring the possession of dogs in the future or requiring training classes not only for the dogs but for the Bidens.

Some Biden defenders say the president has nothing to fear as he should be exempt from “dog bites man” lawsuits, but legal experts scoff at the notion of a canine-presidential-immunity defense.

Even some liberal media outlets call President Biden’s response to his dogs having turned Secret Service agents into chew toys “mystifying.” New York magazine commented: “What was Joe thinking? Exactly how many people did this dog bite? What does this say about White House security? Are the Bidens irresponsible pet owners?”

The office of First Lady Jill Biden has told CNN that several different measures were tried to adjust the behavior of the two German shepherds, but nothing worked, requiring their eventual removal. “The White House environment simply proved too much for Commander,” Jill Biden’s statement concluded. But as any large-dog owner will tell you: Animals reflect the actions and environment of their owners. If they aren’t trained properly, the fault for their aggression lies with the owners.

Whatever went wrong with the Bidens’ pets, the management of their dangerous dogs appears to be on a par with the White House’s slipshod record in foreign policy and the economy.