It’s the Monday right before the 2024 presidential election and Republicans can’t stop talking about the state-sanctioned euthanizing of squirrels named Peanut.
Known to him Over 720,000 Instagram followers As P’Nut, the tiny, charismatic mouse has become a right-wing martyr — as has his surviving, very muscular, often shirtless owner, Mark Longo, who also happens to be a fan-only model with a significant gay following.
Despite the many freedoms New Yorkers have, it turns out that keeping squirrels as pets is not legal in New York. A New York Department of Environmental Conservation raid on Longo’s property (DEC) in Pine City, New York, where the peanut reportedly bit an officer involved in the investigation. Squirrels and at least one other animal (a raccoon named Fred) were taken from the property and euthanized. This resulted in a social media frenzy that gained particular purchase in right-wing spaces, with conservatives going to bat for the OnlyFans model and her late pet.
How can a forest mouse be a Republican? Did the peanut die? Why are Elon Musk and JD Vance talking about these dead animals? Are squirrels good pets? Why does this often naked man love this squirrel so much?
The more one discovers about peanuts, the more questions arise. That said, here’s an attempt to analyze the story of how a charming rat became the only thing of interest to Republicans less than 24 hours before Election Day.
Who was Peanut the Squirrel and why was he killed?
Social media has been receiving a lot of attention for quite some time now Conventionally attractive men with their pets. It is not related to the whole event Men posing with their dogs and cats on dating apps. It wasn’t complicated: extremely fit people + adorable pets = many, many internet followers.
In a simpler era, before Peanut and his owner Mark Longo became conservative celebrities, a friend of mine sent me a post from Longo’s social media. It was a video of Longo, shirtless, hanging out with Peanuts. The message, however unspoken, was clear: Look at this guy with his big muscles and his little squirrel (not an accent).
Other Videos of Longo- Wearing tight pants with squirrels, wearing short shorts with squirrels, Sporting a bulge With Squirrel — made it very clear that even though the TikTok account was named “Peanut the Squirrel,” his co-star was the real draw. Longo’s fans-only account, “Squirrel Dad,” seems to confirm that the creator is channeling her and Peanut’s social media fame into lucrative graphic sex work — work that, quite frankly, does not feature Peanut.
While Longo and Peanut’s reputation was growing, no one questioned the legitimacy of Longo’s ownership of Peanut. According to Longo in an interview with the New York Post, he found Peanut as an orphaned kit (baby squirrel sound) seven years ago and raised the small, charming mouse himself.
Unfortunately for Longo, animal laws in New York State, where he and Peanut lived together, do not allow people to keep squirrels as pets, orphans or not. Longo and his partner also owned Fred the raccoon — another animal that cannot be kept as a pet. Besides Peanuts and Fred, Longo and his partner opened P’Nuts Freedom FarmAn animal sanctuary in Pine City, IN April 2023.
After Longo submitted numerous anonymous complaints about the animals (Longo said he believed the complaints were from Internet activists), New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation said it raided Longo’s residence last week. According to the official report, one of the investigating officers bit a peanut during the visit; DEC, following protocol, took down Peanut and Fred (the raccoon) and tested both animals for rabies.
New York DEC said in a statement:
On October 30, DEC seized a raccoon and squirrel that shared a habitat with humans, creating the possibility of human exposure to rabies. Apart from this, a person involved in the investigation was bitten by a squirrel. To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized.
My colleague Karen Landman, an MD who trained as a physician and epidemiologist, points out that the measures can be overly invasive. Longo was picking peanuts at his house For more than seven years. If the squirrel were really radiating, it would have a shorter lifespan. The animal was also captive, he noted, and its blood could be tested without being killed.
In the wake of Peanuts and Fred’s euthanasia, Longo spoke at length with the New York Post in an exclusive interview.
“They treated me like I was a terrorist. They treated this operation as if I was a drug dealer.” Long told the PostExplaining that the expedition was about five hours long.
Longo addressed the people who filed complaints against him, Peanut, Fred and his animal sanctuary. “For those who called the DEC, there is a special place in hell for you,” Longo added.
How did Peanut become a right-wing martyr?
Based on Peanut’s social media presence (created by Longo), Peanut’s accounts did not contain any overtly biased messages. The closest thing to politics was celebrating the Peanuts holiday There is no specific reference to Christmas. The same goes for Longo’s social media presence, where his adult content has been described as “kinky” and has a. gay stalking.
Still, because of Longo’s interview with the Post, which leans conservative, right-wing figures have picked up on his and Peanuts’ story. Many frames are longo and peanuts as an example Government overreach. With AI, some conservatives like Elon Musk turned peanuts into right-wing memes, creating a phalanx-like image.Peanut is ready for battleOr Peanut as a Jedi chipmunk (although Peanut was a squirrel).
The peanut story of potentially wrongful euthanasia has become so popular with Republicans that vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance has cited the small mammal in several of his campaign speeches.
“Have you seen this squirrel video? He is, like, a genius. or was he Vance told a crowd in North CarolinaAssuring them that his running mate was just as hot about the squirrel’s death as he was.
“Is it really the case that the Democrats killed Elon Musk the squirrel?” Vance said, recalling his conversation with Trump.
The claim here is that the local New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which was responsible for Peanut’s death, is synonymous with the Democratic Party. How, precisely, is unclear. It’s also not clear what “Elon Mask of the Squirrel” means. Vance’s critics pointed out that he and his team showed too much sympathy for a small mouse that was considered at risk for rabies. Immigrant family or human prey Police brutality.
At this point, too-online, the peanut has been transformed into a mascot for engagement. musk And the right wing is dominant Ian Miles Cheung Both have — perhaps deceptively — linked Peanut’s death to an eventual Republican victory, though the math remains rough.”??? profitNew York, where Peanut lived illegally, is a solid blue state. However, it’s true that putting down an animal is an emotional issue for many across party lines, something Musk probably remembers from his 2016 Harambe speech. (At that time, Trump Zoo officials who shot the gorilla “had no choice.”)
Longo, for his part, stepped up $180,000 In the wake of Peanut’s death, she says the funds will go toward her animal sanctuary’s “mission.” Many of these donations cite the politics that have become associated with peanuts. It just goes to show that being at the center of a culture war — even one that, for big-name players, is perhaps a bit hollow — pays off.
