Why the death of P'Nut the squirrel has become a national political event

Then, on October 30, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection came with a warrant and seized both the famous squirrel and a civilian raccoon named Fred. According to Longo, government agents vandalized the house.

“Following multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wild animals that could transmit rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets, the DEC conducted an investigation,” it said in a statement to the Just read. The DEC requires a permit to keep squirrels and raccoons as pets.

Two days later, the agency euthanized both animals, saying one of them had been bitten by a pathogen and that they needed to be tested for rabies.

When Longo shared the news of P'Nut's transfer to government custody, it sparked outrage. The news of his death made him a minor martyr.

A Change.org petition calling for reform of the DEC had nearly 60,000 signatures as of Monday.

“That squirrel did more for the community back then [sic] You ever will,” one signatory wrote in the comments. “Trash, you’re all trash.”

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign has also been launched, raising more than $177,000 as of Monday. According to the site, the donations will cover the Longos' legal fees and support the farm.

Mark Longo speculated about this New York Post that a jealous tipster filed a complaint with the government agency.

“Maybe it’s someone who thinks I’m using this place to make a lot of money,” he said. “Did this work wonders for my OnlyFans? Absolutely. You can make a lot of money that way.”

Some conservatives viewed P'Nut as symbolic, saying his plight was a symbol of unjustified government overreach. On Sunday, Vance said at a rally in Sanford, North Carolina, that Trump was “enraged” by the animal's death.

“I know Don loves P'nut the squirrel,” he said. “He said, 'You know, is it really the case that the Democrats murdered the Elon Musk of squirrels?' Have you seen the videos of this squirrel? He's a genius, so to speak. Or he was.”

Musk also made several posts against P'Nut's seizure and subsequent euthanasia, including a meme of a squirrel dressed as a Jedi that he called “Obi PNut Kenobi.”

“The government should not be allowed to enter your home and kill your pet! This is messed up,” he wrote Saturday in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the social media site he runs. “Even if it's illegal to keep a squirrel as a pet (which it shouldn't be), why kill PNut instead of just releasing him into the forest!?”

A Republican representative from New York State, Jake Blumenkranzeven announced plans to introduce legislation in the animal's name, which he called the “Peanut Law: Humane Animal Protection Act.”

If this is indeed the “October Surprise” we've been waiting for this election cycle, it couldn't be much more surprising – not just because of its timing, a few days later, but also because it's the first time that a rodent (sometimes wearing a tiny cowboy hat) was the focus of a political party's closing arguments before a presidential election.

Surprise!