Lara Trump has questioned what happened to President Joe Biden's first dog, who died in the summer of 2021, and told the commander-in-chief to "roll [his] sleeves up" and get to work in the White House.
On June 19, 2021, President Biden announced via Twitter his family's German Shepherd pet, Champ, had died. While speaking on the Sean Hannity Show Tuesday, Trump reflected on Biden spending time with his dogs at his Delaware home.
"I think it is time to stop vacationing Joe Biden," Trump said.
She continued: "Instead of walking your dog masked up on the beach in Delaware, by the way we still don't know what happened to the first dog, it is time to roll your sleeves up [and] get to work in the White House because vacationing clearly is not working."
The White House issued a statement on June 19 regarding the death of Champ without explaining the specifics of his death.
"Our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home," the statement read.
It continued: "He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family.
"Even as Champ's strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub."
In December, 2021 Biden announced that the family had gotten a new dog named Commander. A video posted to Twitter was viewed over 3 million times.
Trump also made comparisons between Biden and Donald Trump's first year in office while speaking on Hannity's show. She argued that her father-in-law worked "all day every day" for the American people.
"I struggle to think of any job where you can not show up for a quarter of the days and keep your job [and] do a good job," she said.
She continued: "I think that is the problem here, people wouldn't be really upset about this if the country felt like it was working, if things felt like they were going well in America, they obviously are not.
"Now I remember when the press and the Democrats would go crazy every time Donald Trump got anywhere near a golf course."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended Biden's regular visits to his Delaware homes during a press briefing on Tuesday.
She was also asked whether the White House would be reconsidering the decision to not release visitor log information from his homes.
"Well, the President goes to Delaware because it's his home. And it's also where his son and his former wife are buried, and it's a place that it is, obviously, close to his heart," Psaki replied to a question.
She added: "A lot of presidents go visit their home when they are president. We've also have gone a step further than the prior administration and many administrations in releasing visitor logs of people who visit the White House, and we'll continue to do that."
Newsweek has contacted the White House and Trump's office for comment.
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About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
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