Elon Musk-fueled US scandal: Peanut the squirrel, taken from owner and euthanized, becomes Donald Trump campaign symbol

A scandal has erupted in the United States around the squirrel Peanut, who was an Internet star and was taken away from her owner by New York authorities and then euthanized. The incident caused a strong resonance in society, and Peanut eventually became a symbol of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Peanut lived with her owner Mark Longo and his wife for about 7 years. Mark picked up the squirrel after it was hit by a car and nursed it back to health. He then released the animal into the wild, but just a day later the squirrel returned to him - it was injured again. Longo then decided to keep it and named it.

Mark often posted videos of the squirrel, who loved to crawl on him and sit on his shoulders, as well as funny photos of her on social media. Thanks to this, Peanut became known all over the world, and she became a real internet celebrity.

However, recently, the New York State Department of Environmental Protection came to Longo and confiscated Peanut and a raccoon named Fred. The department said that this was done due to numerous complaints - New York state law prohibits keeping wild animals without a license. Mark tried to get the pets back and hired a team of lawyers for this purpose, but Peanut and Fred were euthanized due to fears that they could infect people with rabies.

What happened to Longo's pets caused a wave of public outrage. Many US newspapers published articles about Peanut, and many media personalities, including Elon Musk, sided with the man. On his social networks, the entrepreneur published an image of Peanut as Obi-Wan Kenobi, created by a neural network, and wrote: "Even if you defeat me, I will become much stronger than you can imagine."

Musk also spoke out in support of the right to keep pets: “The government should not be allowed to break into your house and kill your pet. It’s savage. Even if keeping a squirrel is illegal, why kill Peanut when you can just let her go into the woods?” In addition, the billionaire made it clear that, in his opinion, the current US administration is directly to blame for what happened. Now he continues to fuel the scandal and repost messages from people who share his position.

Peanut eventually became a true symbol of the US Republican Party and, in particular, Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Numerous images of Peanut began to appear on social networks, reflecting people's political views. Many even believe that if Trump wins the election, it will be largely thanks to Peanut.

As for Longo and his wife, they are deeply saddened by the loss of their pets and are asking followers to donate funds for their subsequent trials and also for their non-profit organization that rescues animals.