How Peanut the Squirrel Became the Center of a MAGA Firestorm

The decision of New York wildlife officials to euthanize a squirrel named P’Nut who was famous on social media has ignited a firestorm response from prominent MAGA Republicans claiming government overreach.
P’Nut or Peanut’s owner, Mark Longo, 34, was devastated last week when New York state officials seized and euthanized Peanut as well as Fred, a raccoon Longo had rescued. The authorities came to his Pine City, New York, home after an anonymous complaint about the animals’ living conditions.
The two animals were featured on the Instagram account @peanut_the_squirrel12, which currently has 692,000 followers. Longo had cared for Peanut for seven years after he rescued the squirrel after witnessing its mother being struck by a car in New York City. Longo’s Instagram page includes videos of the squirrel doing tricks.
On Friday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a part of the state’s government, and Chemung County Department of Health told Newsweek that on October 30 “DEC seized a raccoon and squirrel sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies. In addition, a person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel. To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized. The animals are being tested for rabies and anyone who has been in contact with these animals is strongly encouraged to consult their physician.”
They added: “The Chemung County Department of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are coordinating to ensure the protection of public health related to the illegal possession of wild animals that have the potential to carry the rabies virus.”
On Sunday, former President Donald Trump’s running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance told a crowd at a Sanford, North Carolina, rally that Trump was “fired up” about the death of the squirrel.
“He was like, ‘You know, is it really the case that the Democrats murdered the Elon Musk of squirrels?'” Vance added.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has endorsed Trump for president, wrote a post on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he owns on Sunday, “Vote For PNut! For Liberty! For Freedom!” The post has been viewed over 33 million times and has garnered over 255,000 likes by Monday morning.
On Saturday, Musk wrote in another X 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!?”
Meanwhile, prominent MAGA Georgia Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Collins issued warnings at Trump’s Sunday rally in Macon, Georgia, saying the killing of the squirrel represented government overreach, which they said was indicative of the Democratic Party.
“Trump’s running against a socialistic, big government, control everything about you, woke regime,” Collins told the crowd. “This thing’s gotten so bad that they’re killing the pets, they’re killing the squirrels, they’re killing the raccoons.”
Greene added that it showed a double standard from New York officials, who she perceived as being strict on pest control while being overly relaxed on immigration.
“Think of this, the Democrats in New York City, Democrats in New York City, went in and raided a home to kill a squirrel, they did, to kill a squirrel, yet it was the same state of New York that let the criminal illegal alien go that came to Georgia that murdered our very own Laken Riley.”
The incident, however, occurred in Pine City, which is approximately 235 miles from New York City.
Newsweek has contacted the DEC via email for further comment in regard to the backlash.
Longo described the moment the authorities came to his house in a recent interview with Newsweek.
“The DEC showed up in my house and issued me a search warrant for a squirrel and a raccoon,” he said. “They raided my house as if I was a drug dealer or something. It is the most shocking thing I have ever seen or witnessed in my life.”
Longo has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his animal sanctuary P’Nut’s Freedom Farm. The page had raised $162,980 from 3,900 donations by Monday.
“In memory of Peanut and Fred, we want to shine a light on the mission of P’nuts Freedom Farm, which tirelessly rescues and provides care for vulnerable animals,” the description reads. “Their lives were a testament to the importance of compassion and kindness toward all creatures, and we are committed to honoring them by continuing this vital work.”