Why does Trump call everyone a dog?

Every White House family in the last century has housed a presidential pup — every White House, that is, except President Trump's. More than a preference, perhaps it's because no dog would have him. Trump has a habit of speaking ill of man's best friend.
Most recently Trump said retiring Republican gadfly Sen. Bob Corker "couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee." And at least 33 other times on Twitter, the president has used canine-inspired vocabulary to attack his enemies.

    Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn't get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2017

He talks about how his enemies in the media — a list that includes everyone from David Gregory to Glenn Beck, Chuck Todd to Erick Erickson — were "fired like a dog." Others have lied and cheated, been dumped and dropped, worked and whispered all "like a dog."

That's not new though. It's nearly Shakespearean. Perhaps a sufferer of Cynophobia, that English poet especially didn't like the animals. His plays are full of dog-ape villains who are dog-hearted and dog-weary in their pursuit of evil.

And when you think of it, calling someone a dog is an especially useful attack for anyone on two legs. Maybe that's why Trump uses it so often. The three letter invective immediately summons ideas of a feral, disloyal, four-legged animal controlled, not by reason, but instinct. Like a dog to vomit, the president is certainly loyal to the insult.

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.