“The army is raised and it’s time to get revenge for Peanut the squirrel,” posted radio show host and Donald Trump supporter Chad Benson with a video of legions of rodents descending on the White House.
As the presidential race reaches its climax, members of the Maga movement from Elon Musk and JD Vance to bloggers and anonymous meme creators have seized on the euthanisation of an internet-famous squirrel to attack the Democrats and fire up supporters.
Peanut, believed to be the first squirrel with a million followers on TikTok, gained a vast fan base over seven years at an animal shelter in New York state that bore his name, managed by Ryan Longo and wife Daniella. Videos of Peanut performing acrobatic stunts or devouring waffles gained millions of views.
But last week, representatives of the department of environmental conservation (DEC) called at P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary and took Peanut and a raccoon named Fred, claiming they had received a complaint about animals being kept illegally. The department later said both creatures had been euthanised over concerns about rabies.
The heartbroken Longos launched a petition “demanding accountability from the DEC and the New York state government”.
“We must advocate for a more compassionate approach to wildlife management to ensure that no other animals suffer such a fate,” the petition read.
The campaign gained some unlikely allies, as the fate of the unfortunate squirrel became an election issue.
On Sunday, Trump’s running mate JD Vance – an avowed lover of all things woodland – told a crowd in battleground state North Carolina “the Democrats murdered the Elon Musk of squirrels”, describing the late Peanut as “a genius” and adding that Trump was “fired up” about the case.
Musk, the tech billionaire and staunch Trump campaigner, went further. “The government is a mindless and heartless killing machine,” he posted on X, a platform he owns.
“President Trump will save the squirrels,” the South African added between a stream of memes presenting Peanut as, among other things, a jedi in Star Wars.
Conservative cartoonist Ben Garrison drew the squirrel with a Vote Trump sign saying “avenge me”.
The wider Magasphere seized on the case, claiming Peanut as an American hero and martyr to government overreach, mixing surreal AI-generated memes with sincere political commentary.
“Peanut is for everyone who has ever feared that someone more powerful than you could walk into your home and take something that you absolutely cherish away from you, for absolutely no good reason, with no recourse,” one supporter posted.
Many right-wing X users claimed the case proved the need for gun ownership. “The people who want to take your guns invaded a home to murder a squirrel,” stated one meme that was reposted by Musk. The National Association for Gun Rights posted: “Justice for Peanut.”
Some Trump supporters sought to track down the perpetrators, claiming to have identified the neighbour who complained to the DEC, and posting the name and photos of the department director “responsible for murdering Peanut”.
The rapidly-growing movement has also gained non-partisan supporters. The non-profit Animal Rescue Mission in California described the killing of Peanut as “disgusting governmental overreach”, and claimed that no one in the US has ever been infected with rabies from a squirrel.
Democrat officials have largely avoided the subject as Team Harris spends the final hours of her campaign attempting to rally supporters in swing states.
But California’s Democratic congressman Ro Khanna did address the issue, adding his voice to the outrage.
“On its face, this was an absurd abuse of government power to issue a search warrant, enter this man’s home, ask about his wife’s immigration status, and kill their squirrel pet of seven years. My condolences to them. There needs to be accountability,” he said.
The death of Peanut is just the latest incident to spark a meme frenzy among social media-connected elements of either sides’ supporter base – Joe Biden even hired a meme manager before pulling out – adding to Harris becoming “Brat coded” after endorsement from singer Charlie XCX, variations of Trump’s raised fist salute after an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania, and Vance’s “childless cat ladies” jibe that became an attack line against him.
