first U.S. President in over 150 years to not have any pets in the White House during his term. He explicitly stated that he did not have time for a pet and felt that having a dog for political reasons would be "phony".
Key details regarding the lack of pets in the Trump White House:
Breaking Tradition: The absence of a pet broke a long-standing White House tradition that dates back to the early days of the presidency. The last president without any animal companion was Andrew Johnson, who left office in 1869.
Reasons Given: Trump mentioned in a 2019 rally in El Paso, Texas, that while he wouldn't mind having a dog, he didn't have time to properly care for one. He also questioned how he would look walking a dog on the White House lawn, suggesting it would not feel right to him.
Personal Stance: According to his first wife, Ivana Trump's memoir, Donald Trump "was not a dog fan". He also frequently used the word "dog" as an insult when referring to political rivals or critics.
Vice Presidential Pets: While the Trump family had no pets in the White House, Vice President Mike Pence and his family had a small menagerie at the Naval Observatory, including a cat named Pickle, an Australian shepherd named Harley, and a rabbit named Marlon Bundo.
Political Contrast: The lack of a pet was noted by critics and became a minor political talking point during the 2020 election, especially in contrast to his opponent Joe Biden, who had two German Shepherds, Champ and Major.
In a 1762 illustration inspired by Jean de La Fontaine’s poem “The Devil of Pope Fig Island,” a woman faces evil not with weapons or prayers — but with wit. When a devil demands half a farmer’s crops, the farmer tricks him, giving only leaves and stems. Enraged, the devil vows revenge. The farmer trembles, but his wife, Perretta, does not. When the devil returns, she feigns injury — claiming her husband has beaten her. Then, in a moment of shocking defiance, she lifts her skirt to reveal the supposed wound. The devil, struck by human audacity — by the raw, unapologetic power of womanhood — recoils in terror and vanishes forever. La Fontaine’s tale, playful yet profound, shows how cleverness can banish fear — how even shame, when wielded with courage, can become a weapon. Perretta was not the devil’s victim; she was the one who made the devil hostage to his own horror.
文學巨匠的世界:名言:「他每少寫一本書,他的聲譽就提升一分。《小說面面觀》」 Edward Morgan Forster(1879—1970),英國小說家、散文家:40多歲就停止寫作並活到91歲:《小說面面觀》E. M.著,蘇希亞譯(2009); 演講談 Virginia Woolf, the Art of Fiction 與女性主義。。
Donald Keene (1922~2019) 著的日本人物傳記,多有日文和中文譯本《明治天皇 》《石川啄木》,缺 江戶後期畫家《渡邊華山》評傳 足利義政と銀閣寺 ( Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion: The Creation of the Soul of Japan)