Here’s Why the Trump Campaign Is Publicizing a Dead Squirrel
It’s hard to imagine that a squirrel could bring down a presidential election, but it’s 2024, so here we are.
It all started last week, when an Instagram-famous rodent named Peanut was taken from a home near Elmira, New York, along with a raccoon named Fred. Peanut lived with Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, for the past seven years; Fred had been living there for about five months. Saving Peanut from death and having a relationship with him inspired the couple to start a non-profit animal farm – P’Nut Freedom Farm – and Fred was left on their doorstep.
But then, on Oct. 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided their home, and after a five-hour search, the two animals were seized. . According to a statement given to WENY, a local TV station, by the DEC and the county health department, Peanut bit one of the researchers, and both animals had to be forcibly removed to perform a medical examination. rabies disease.
In a logical sequence, animal keepers and fans would mourn them, and perhaps spark an internet discussion about the ethics of keeping wild animals indoors, as pets. . (All other animals in their care stay outside.) But like 2024 Murphy’s law, if something is going to become normal, it has to become political.
So when Longo wrote about his anger with the DEC for using tax dollars to attack his nonprofit sanctuary, local Republican politicians blamed Gov. Kathy Hochul. Then Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, intervened, recalling the unforgettable squirrel when his friends began to dig the AI mud of former President Donald Trump and Peanut standing in victory, together. The Trump campaign posted on TikTok: “Vote Trump for Peanut.” His report wrote that Peanut was “needlessly killed by Democrat officials in New York,” adding: “We will avenge you on Tuesday at the ballot box.”
On Sunday, the squirrel was on the cover of New York Post.
Longo says Rolling Stone that he is surprised that, in such a full week in American history, anyone cares so much about his squirrel, but appreciates the outpouring of support. “The fact that my squirrel made world history [in] last week is not surprising,” he says Rolling Stone. But that’s not what I wanted from this. I wanted my pet.”
Who is Peanut and how did he become a famous spider?
About seven years ago, Mark Longo, then living in Connecticut and working in New York, was leaving work in the city when he saw a squirrel hit by a car. When she went to scare her baby back to the side of the road, the squirrel ran with her leg. With only one eye open and a severe limp, Longo began calling local doctors. “They all said they would probably make him stronger,” he told YouTube channel Koala in 2022. “So I started researching squirrels.” After eight months of DIY rehab, he said, he released Peanut in his backyard, but the squirrel was quickly attacked by another animal, losing half his tail in the process. that. She said: “That was the end of Peanut’s life. However, it got him interested in rescuing animals. He started an Instagram page for his pet, doing the work of becoming a model for OnlyFans (yes, his arm is Squirrel Daddy), and within a few years, he had enough money for him and his wife to leave city life for Western New York .
Most of the animals they take in – horses, alpacas – do not require permits. But it was illegal for the action star, Peanut, as a product of rabies, to live long in the house. About six months ago, after Peanut’s stardom came to light, anonymous complaints flooded the Department of Environmental Protection. He received a call alerting him to fix the government, and began the process of registering Peanut as a study animal. “My wife and I went and took wild animals [rehabilitator] license [test],” he says. “We were about to submit the papers. We were doing our vows. ” He said they had been visited by wildlife services but found no problems at the farm. He says: “Animal Control became normal. “They were getting a lot of calls and complaints, and they would come here and say, everything is fine. All the animals up here are healthy.”
When did Fred the raccoon get involved?
According to Longo, Fred was left on the doorstep of the shelter a month or two after the first call from the DEC. He says that he and his wife were so taken by the animal that they did not look for additional documents to keep it. He says: “He had 60 ticks that we picked up. “We cleaned him, prepared him in advance, and he would go back to the country as soon as he grew up.” Fred quickly became one of their social media stars.
What happened to the attack?
Although the DEC did not respond Rolling Stone‘A request for comment, Longo says that it was a systematic effort by the internet to pressure the center with anonymous complaints that brought the attack. As she tearfully recounted several times in the past few days, after the judge signed the search warrant, six DEC officers and a handful of other law enforcement officers arrived at her home. look for a squirrel and a raccoon.
He says: “Immediately my wife told the police where Fred is. We tried to block Peanut to see if I could talk about it. The search took five hours, he says, which meant his rescue horses missed a lot of food and needed care because he couldn’t take care of them. “These are starving animals,” he says. “And now you starve them yourself.”
Since the attack, Longo has been quick to criticize the Department of Environmental Protection — a statewide agency based out of Albany — for its handling of the case. He says he has had many interactions with wildlife authorities, and they have found no problems with the farm.
So things turned political?
He says: “I’m the first to say that I avoid politics, but that interests me because, ‘This is the way government is run in New York State?'” he says. Rolling Stone. “I don’t want Peanut’s name to die in vain.”
Keeping a raccoon – an animal known to have rabies – in their home without a proper permit was illegal, but they have retained a lawyer and plan to take legal action, although Longo refused. directly suggesting what that will be.
Some Republicans used this as an opportunity to take legal action; over the weekend, New York State Assemblymember Jake Blumencranz announced via X that he would be introducing the “Peanut Act: Animal Protection Act.” But ironically, the response from the right was simply to spin the Democrats as the party of power that kills useless animals, and Trump as the only one who can save the country. “Are these the guys who killed my whale and my bear? And, what happened to the head?” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joked X, referring to the confusing animal-related scandal that plagued his campaign this summer. I just want a friend.
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