In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump’s Vice President pick JD Vance brought along his supposed “rent-a-dog” named Atlas. An out-of-context clip from the interview has gone viral, where it appears Vance is admitting to Carlson that the dog with him was rented and given to him by the Trump Campaign to make him seem like a dog fan.
The full clip includes Vance saying what he just said is based on an online rumor about him and that he got the young German Shepherd when he was 8 weeks old.
A video of vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance was deceptively clipped to make it sound as if he said his German shepherd, Atlas, was a “rent-a-dog” the Trump campaign had given him. Vance got Atlas when he was 8 weeks old, in January 2024. https://t.co/vf5m99Bcfx
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) September 22, 2024
Vance’s campaign had previously shared photos of puppy Atlas and his wife Usha with the New York Post.
The rumor that this German Shepherd isn’t actually JD Vance’s dog started in August. This was due to a clip of Vance and Atlas boarding a plane, causing commenters to point out that Vance appeared to not be used to holding a leash of a dog that size and that the dog appeared unsure about being led by him.
The harness isn't even on right & he's clearly never held a dog lead before in his life. I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't even his dog.
— Clouds (@dontcountstars) August 16, 2024
That dog was confused: who the heck is this guy???!!! A question for inquiring minds everywhere, already
— Tara M Smith (@TaraMSmith3) August 16, 2024