Last November 1st a squirrel named Peanut and a raccoon named Fred were seized and euthanized by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), following anonymous complaints claiming that the two animals – belonging to Mark Longowhich made Peanut a “social media star” with an Instagram profile of around 700,000 followers Peanut the Squirrel – were carriers of anger. Unexpectedly, this story is influencing the 2024 US presidential elections, which will decide who will be the new President between the Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. So, to the sound of the slogan «Peanut for Trump» within a few hours the small rodent has become a symbol of MAGA movement (Make America Great Again). But what does a squirrel have to do with the candidate for the White House and why is it influencing the presidential election campaign?
What happened to Peanut the squirrel
Seven years ago the rodent was seriously injured following an attack by a wild animal, and was saved by Mark Longowho had welcomed him into his home in Pine City (Pennsylvania), given that it would not have survived in the wild. Longo began filming the squirrel and uploading the videos to his Instagram page Peanut the Squirrel. Although he was now a real star, his status couldn’t save him: Peanut was in fact kidnapped and suppressed by New York State authorities along with the raccoon Fred due to a series of anonymous complaints claiming that the keeping of the two animals violated wildlife regulations, and that both were carriers of rabies (one of the complaints claimed that the squirrel had even bitten a man).
According to what was declared by the New York State DEC and the Chemung County Health Department, the two animals later died following the rabies test. The test is deadly because it includes a “complete cross-section of tissue from both the brainstem and cerebellum” – there are currently no approved methods for testing for rabies in animals antemortem.
Peanut’s tragic story sparked a huge uproar wave of indignation in the United States (and not only) and among the rodent’s fans, who made them smile with cute acrobatics, eating waffles and wearing miniature cowboy hats.
How the Peanut affair is influencing the campaign for the 2024 US elections
The tycoon Elon Musk — who openly supports Trump’s presidential candidacy — immediately seized the opportunity by criticizing the government intervention and defining it as “a excess interference». After a first post published on X with a reference to one of the most well-known phrases of Star Wars («If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can imagine»), Musk said:
Is it too much to ask to have a government that focuses on defending the rights of Americans instead of raiding homes to euthanize their animals?
Precisely from this sad news story and from Musk’s various comments the slogan «Peanut for Trump», a symbol of criticism by the tycoon’s supporters towards the policies of the current Democratic Party and the possible next government with Harris at the helm, given the declared continuation of some political lines already started by Biden. The hope of some supporters of the movement is that the story could move the hearts of the undecided and make them vote for Trump, who – according to what they report – “would never support actions of this kind because he cares about the protection of pets”.
Following the sad story, Mark Longo and his wife Daniela opened a fundraising in memory of Fred and Peanut, which will go to fund their wildlife sanctuary”P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary“, created last year to house abandoned animals and treat injured wild animals.
