Peanut The Squirrel could be the story of the weekend leading up to next Tuesday’s presidential election.

If anything, it has led to comments from both President Trump and Elon Musk that show how volatile things have become.

A backstory: A pet squirrel became a social media fixation after its owner, Mark Longo, posted heartwarming photos and videos on both Instagram and TikTok. The Peanut the Squirrel account amassed approximately 559,000 followers on Instagram alone.

According to multiple reports and a message from Longo himself, the pet squirrel was seized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and euthanized.

Previous posts and videos on social media revealed how Longo held a petition to keep Peanut the Squirrel alive, including a GoFundMe account that raised thousands for an animal rescue charity.

Trump and Musk respond

President Trump released a statement to the media stating:

“There are terrible reports from New York, my former home state, where state environmental agents raided the home of Mark Longo and his wife. Mark was taken into custody for hours while officials searched his home, eventually taking two of their pets, Fred the raccoon and Peanut the squirrel. These animals were later executed by New York State.

New York authorities under their terrible governor put more effort into finding and eliminating a squirrel, who was by all accounts innocent, than into controlling the uncontrolled illegal immigrants who have overrun their state. If Peanut could have told them he was from Mexico, they would have sent him on his way and given him a hotel room and a $500 gift card to Buddy Squirrel. Instead, he was taken from his family. Very sad, and a complete waste of resources! If we win, we will get our priorities in order and MAGA!”

Elon Musk also commented on his X feed:

The well-known entrepreneur and Trump advocate has posted about the incident several more times, including one Star Wars-related post:

What characterizes the story

This is exactly the kind of story that characterizes the elections.

What Musk is actually saying is that government agencies have no right to seize and euthanize a pet from someone’s home. Trump is basically saying the same thing. They both rally around Longo because this year’s elections were mainly about how much control the government should have.

One thing is clear: everyone has an opinion during the election, and they’re sharing them on social media at such a rapid pace that it’s often hard to keep up. The Peanut the Squirrel story could serve as a final reminder of what has divided voters all along. Now there is a whole new reason to debate with each other.