Will a cowboy-hat-wearing euthanized pet squirrel swing the election for Trump?
An orphaned squirrel who rose to social media stardom after its rescue was seized and euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation last week.
Now, Peanut, also known as P'nut, has become an icon for the right.
"are we gonna win this election because of this f’ing squirrel," questioned one Republican.
"This is going to decide the election, isn’t it," concluded someone else.
"I suspect the reason the Peanut story is resonating so much is that it's such a clarifying example of how mundane and pervasive petty tyranny has become," echoed someone else.
Peanut was first rescued by owner Mark Longo seven years ago after Longo said he witnessed Peanut's mother hit and killed by a car.
Since then, Longo documented raising Peanut as a beloved pet on social media, where photos of Peanut donning a cowboy hat and videos of him snacking on waffles and walking around on Longo's shoulders amassed him hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.
But the playful videos came to an abrupt end when Peanut was seized, along with Fred the raccoon, on Oct. 30. Both were euthanized and Longo says the DEC informed the media before him of that decision.
Fred, Longo says, was dropped off on his doorstep a few months ago. He was helping him recover from injuries and was planning to release him into the woods.
Longo runs a non-profit called P'Nuts Freedom Farm in Western New York, which currently serves as a rescue sanctuary for a host of horses; cows; alpacas; a variety of chickens, ducks, and other fowl; as well as a macaw and a potbelly pig.
In a statement, DEC said Peanut and Fred created "the potential for human exposure to rabies" and that one person involved with the raid was bitten by Peanut.
"To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized,” the agency said.
Longo, who was present during the raid, countered that he didn't see anyone bitten and that everyone involved was wearing gloves.
Since the raid, Longo has spoken out against the New York agency's decisions.
"What happened today and what transpired through this week has been nothing short of a tragedy and disgrace to New York state," Longo told NewsNation. "Two days ago, 10-15 DEC officers raided my home for a raccoon and a squirrel. We used resources from this state to kill a squirrel and raccoon and raid my house as if I was a drug dealer. We have resources to kill a raccoon and a squirrel, but we can't fix the major bridges down the street?"
Right-wing supporters of Peanut and Fred have ratcheted up the criticism of the government—expanding beyond New York's leaders to the presidential election.
“'Peanut’s gone, man. I’ll be voting. Good luck,'" posted one person on X, along with an image of a ballot voting for President Donald Trump.
"'I will protect you little one,'" captioned one right-wing influencer of an AI-generated image of Trump defending a squirrel.
"Election results if Trump tweets about Peanut the Squirrel," wrote a meme account of a fully red electoral map.
"When you find out what they did to Peanut the squirrel," wrote someone else, along with a "Don't Tread on Me" flag featuring the silhouette of a squirrel.
Leaning particularly into the news is Elon Musk, who has devoted more than a dozen posts and reposts to Peanut.
In one post, Musk shared an AI-generated image of a Star Wars version of Peanut.
“'If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine' Obi PNut Kenobi," Musk said.
He later added in a follow-up post: "The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up. Even if it is illegal to have a pet squirrel (which it shouldn’t be), why kill PNut instead of simply releasing him into the forest!?"
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